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The 
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THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


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truck 

ran 


S../.3B-     J& <U 


dickory,  dock, 
up  the  clock 


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STORIES  OF 

MOTHER  GOOSE 
VILLAGE 


of 


VILLAGE/ 


TZ7 


TO 

WILLETTE  ALLEN 

WITH 

THE  LOVE  OF  THE  AUTHOR 


T'hre  Prefa  c  e 


ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  little  girl  with  sunny  hair 
and  merry  eyes,  and  she  lived  in  a  house  with  a  great  big 
man,  who  was  her  father. 

Now,  the  great  big  man  had  merry  eyes,  too,  just  like  the  little 
girl's,  but  he  was  always  very  busy  and  would  sit  for  days  and 
days  at  his  study-table  reading  and  writing.  But  the  little  girl 
went  in  to  see  him  every  day  and  the  great  big  man  was  never  too 
busy  to  tell  her  a  story.  And  sometimes  he  would  romp  with  her 
until  the  little  girl  laughed  and  laughed  and  laughed,  and  then  he 
would  say,  "  Run  away,  my  dear,  and  play." 

Of  course  th'e  stories  were  very  short  ones,  because  the  great 
big  man  did  not  have  time  to  tell  long  ones,  you  know.  One  the 
little  girl  liked  was : 

"  See-saw,  Margery  Daw, 
Jenny  shall  have  a  new  master  ; 

She  shall  have  but  a  penny  a  day 
Because  she  can't  work  any  faster." 

She  liked  that  one  because  the  great  big  man  always  rode  her 
on  his  knee  when  he  told  it.  But  there  were  others  that  she  liked 
just  as  well  —  all  about  little  Bo-Peep  and  little  Miss  Muffet  and 
Jack  Sprat  and  Humpty  Dumpty  and  Peter  Piper  and  Jack  and 
Jill  and  little  Boy  Blue  and  Polly  Flinders  and  Tommy  Tucker 
and  the  Crooked  Man  and  —  oh,  many  others  that  you  have  heard 

—  6  — 


—  7  — 

about  in  the  Mother  Goose  book.  But  the  last  one  that  the  great 
big  man  always  told  was  this  —  because  the  little  girl  always  said 
"  Tell  one  more,"  you  know : 

"  I'll  tell  you  a  story 
About  Jack-a-Manory, 

And  now  my  story's  begun, 
I'll  tell  you  another 
About  Jack  and  his  brother, 

And  now  my  story  is  done." 

Then  he  would  chuck  the  little  girl  under  her  chin  and  she 
would  smile  and  run  away  and  play,  and  tell  the  very  same  stories 
over  and  over  to  her  dolls  about  Jack-a-Manory  and  all  the  rest. 
But  one  day  something  happened,  for,  when  the  great  big  man 
came  home  from  town,  why,  he  brought  a  present  to  the  little  girl, 
all  tied  up  with  a  blue  cord,  and  when  she  opened  it  —  why,  it  was 
a  story  book,  quite  full  of  all  those  stories  the  little  girl  loved  so 
well,  and  there  were  most  beautiful  colored  pictures,  too  —  one  for 
every  story — Bo- Peep  and  Tommy  Grace  and  Boy  Blue  and  all 
the  rest !  And  do  you  know,  the  little  girl  could  read  those  stories 
almost  as  well  as  the  great  big  man  could.  He  would  only  show 
her  the  pictures  and  she  would  do  the  rest  —  whether  he  held  the 
book  upside  down  or  not !  Now  wasn't  that  queer? 

So  for  many  days  the  little  girl  read  her  Mother  Goose  book  — 
read  and  read  and  read  until  she  almost  wore  it  out,  she  read  it  so 
much,  and  then  she  was  sorry  because  there  wasn't  any  more  of  it 
to  read.  She  asked  the  great  big  man,  when  he  went  to  town,  to 
see  if  Mother  Goose  had  not  written  another  book,  but  when  the 
great  big  man  came  back,  he  shook  his  head  and  said,  "  No,  my 
dear ;  the  old  lady  wrote  only  the  one."  And  then  when  the  little 
girl  looked  sad,  he  said,  "  But  never  mind,  when  you  grow  into  a 
great  big  girl,  my  dear,  you  may  write  another  one  and  tell  some 
more  about  Humpty  Dumpty  and  Jack-be-Nimble  and  little  Miss 
Muffet  and  all  the  rest."  And  so  the  little  girl  did,  and  these  are 
the  stories  she  wrote.  Wouldn't  you  like  to  read  them? 

MADGE  BIGHAM. 


Contents 


Dedication 5 

The  Preface 6 

MOTHER    GOOSE    VILLAGE 1 1 

POLLY    FLINDERS'    APRON 17 

THE  CROOKED  MAN'S  STORY 23 

TOMMY  GRACE'S  PARTY 29 

THE  SCHOOLMASTER'S  PIE 34 

DAN 41 

TOMMY  TUCKER'S  BUN ...  49 

THE  APPLE    PARTY 55 

CURLY  LOCKS'  PEAS 61 

JACK  AND  JILL'S  BIRTHDAY  DOLLS 69 

LITTLE   WEE    PUMPKIN'S  THANKSGIVING 75 

SIMPLE   SIMON'S    SILKEN    COAT 82 

MAIDEN    MAPLE    LEAF 90 

NANCY    ETTICOTE'S    RING ...  97 


—  9  — 

PAGE 

THE  OLD  WOMAN'S  CHRISTMAS  TREE 105 

MARY  CONTRARY'S  DOLL  BED 112 

PEG'S   TRIP   TO   THE  SKY 119 

JACK'S   ICE-CREAM    PICNIC 126 

THE    SLEEPING    PRINCESS ' 133 

THE  OLD  WOMAN'S  NEW  YEAR'S  BASKET     .     .     .     .     .139 

LITTLE  Miss  MUFFET'S  VALENTINE 146 

MOTHER   HUBBARD'S   EASTER  LILY 153 

TOMMY    TINKER'S    CHARM    STRING 159 

THE  WONDERFUL  SECRET 164 

THE  LITTLE  BROWN  VALENTINE 169 

CINDERELLA'S   EGG    HUNT 175 

Mother  Goose  Rhymes 183 


Why,  I  had  the  gayest  ride,  over  hills  and  fields  and  bridges" 


Mother  Goose  Village 


IF  ever  you  go  to  London  Town,  be  sure  to 
knock  at  the  door  of  jolly  Old  King  Cole 
and  ask  the  way  to  Mother  Goose  Village. 

He  will  tell  you  to  follow  the  big  road,  to 
cross  London  bridge,  follow  a  winding  path, 
go  over  the  old  stile --where  the  Crooked 
Man  found  the  sixpence,  to  cross  the  field 
and  climb  Primrose  Hill,  and  then  you  will 
see  Mother  Goose  Village  before  you. 

I  found  the  way  without  any  trouble,  and 
it  was  the  dearest,  quaintest  little  village  in 
all  the  world !  Lovely  flowers  and  soft,  green 


—  12  — 

grass,  with  birds  and  bees  and  butterflies 
scattered  everywhere!  And  then,  there  was 
the  beautiful  sea  with  its  dancing  waves;  and 
the  blue,  blue  sky  with  no  signs  of  cobwebs 
anywhere ! 

No  wonder  the  queer  little  people  I  met 
loved  to  live  there.  Mother  Goose  herself 
carried  me  over  the  village,  and  I  shook  hands 
with  many  of  the  people,  I  saw  Little  Boy 
Blue  and  Bo-Peep  watching  their  sheep.  I 
saw  the  Miller  of  Dee  and  his  little  daughter 
Peg.  I  saw  the  Three  Wise  Men  of  Gotham 
on  the  seashore  just  ready  to  take  a  sail  in 
their  wonderful  bowl.  I  saw  John  Smith  the 
blacksmith  and  Robert  Rowly  the  baker,  and 
—  well,  I  saw  them  all. 

For,  after  Mother  Goose  had  shown  me 
all  the  little  red  houses  tucked  around  Prim- 
rose Hill,  she  took  me  to  the  schoolhouse, 
and  I  enjoyed  that  most  of  all.  We  got  there 
just  in  time  to  hear  the  Schoolmaster  call 


—  13  — 

the  roll.  Everybody  in  the  village  answered 
to  the  roll  call,  even  Mother  Goose  herself. 
That  was  the  only  way  she  could  keep  up 
with  her  people.  She  kissed  her  hand  to 


One  of  the  little  red  houses  on  Primrose  Hill 

them  as  we  entered  the  doorway,  and  then 
the  Schoolmaster  opened  his  big  book. 
Never  before  had  I  seen  so  many  queer  little 
people,  old  and  young,  high  and  low,  answer 
to  a  roll  call.  I  could  not  help  but  smile  at 


—  14  — 


the  funny  names  I  heard,  as  you  will,  when 
you  read  them.      Listen  : 


Mother  Goose. 

Mother  Twitchett. 

Mother  Hubbard. 

Old  Woman  in  the  Shoe. 

Cobweb  Woman. 

Old  Woman  under  the  Hill. 

Father  Graybeard. 

Man  in  the  Moon, 

Little  Tee  Wee. 

Peter  Pumpkineater. 

Wise  Men  of  Gotham. 

Humpty  Dtimpty. 

Solomon  Grundy. 

Tommy  Green. 

Tommy  Trout. 

King  of  Hearts. 

Queen  of  Hearts. 

Little  King  Boggen. 

Old  King  Cole. 

Cinderella. 

Doctor  Foster. 

Charlie  Wag. 

John  Smith. 

Polly  Flinders. 

Curly  Locks. 

Nancy  Etticote. 

Mary  Contrary. 

Jack-be-Nimble. 


Jack  Horner. 
Jack  Goose. 
Little  Jack  Jingle. 
Johnny  Pringle. 
Betty  Pringle. 
Betsy. 
Bess. 

Tommy  Snooks. 
Bessie  Brooks. 
Rowley  Powley. 
Little  Boy  Blue. 
Tommy  Grace. 
John-a-Nory. 
Tweedle-dum. 
Tweedle-dee. 
Peter  Henderson. 
Nothing-at-all. 
Tommy  Tucker. 
Taffy  Welchman. 
Jack-a-Dandy. 
Little  Peg. 
Jack-a-Daw. 
Robert  Rowly. 
Margery  Daw. 
Jenny  Daw. 
Jumping  Joan. 
Daffy-down-dilly. 
Little  Miss  Muffet. 


—  15  — 

Tommy  Tittlemouse.  Peter  Piper. 

Lazy  Tom.  Bonny  Wooley  Foster 

Peter  White.  Johnny  Armstrong. 

Bobby  Shaftoe.  Pretty  John  Watts. 

Miller  of  Dee.  Willy  Boy. 

Elizabeth.  Tony  Lumpkin. 

Elspeth.  Simple  Simon. 

Robinson  Crusoe.  Jack. 

Tom  Piper.  Jill. 

Jack  Bean  Stalk.  Dicky  Long. 

Patchy  Dolly.  Bo-Peep. 

Crooked  Man.  Ten  Little  Indians. 

Jack  Sprat.  Tom  Thumb. 

That  is  all  I  can  remember  now.  I  was 
sorry  when  the  time  came  to  say  good-by, 
and  I  wanted  to  live  in  Mother  Goose  Vil- 
lage all  the  time.  But  of  course  I  couldn't. 

Mother  Goose  called  for  Johnny  Arm- 
strong to  carry  me  home  in  his  little  wheel- 
barrow; the  very  same  one  in  which  he  had 
brought  his  wife  home,  so  he  told  me.  I  felt 
a  wee  bit  afraid  that  it  might  break  down 
and  give  me  a  fall,  but  it  didn't. 

Why,  I  had  the  gayest  ride;  over  hills  and 
fields  and  bridges,  along  narrow  paths  and 


—  16  — 

winding   roads   we   sped,  until   we   came   to 
London  Town.      It  was  a  very  fine  ride. 

Of  course  I  mean  to  tell  you  more, — 
Stories,  I  guess,  some  hundred  score, 
Of  the  queer  little  people  I  met  that  day 
In  Mother  Goose  Village  so  far  away. 


Polly  Flinders  !Apron 


POLLY  FLINDERS  wanted  a  new 
white  apron  with  ruffles  on  it. 

She  thought  it  would  be  very  beautiful, 
and  while  she  was  sitting  in  the  doorway 
thinking, — guess  what?  She  fell  asleep. 

And  while  she  was  asleep, — guess  what? 
A  very  old  cottonstalk,  with  long,  soft  white 
hair,  walked  up  to  the  steps  and  spoke  to  her! 

"Good-morning,  Polly  Flinders,"  said  Mr. 
Cottonstalk,  bowing  low.  "It  is  very  warm; 
let  me  fan  you  with  one  of  my  leaf  fans.  And 
so  you  want  a  new  white  apron,  do  you?" 


—  18  — 

"  Yes,"  said  Polly,  stretching  her  eyes  very 
wide;  "how  did  you  know?" 

"Never  mind  about  that,"  said  Mr.  Cot- 
tonstalk;  "get  a  bag  and  follow  me.  I  will 
show  you  a  place  where  white  aprons  grow." 

So  Polly  got  the  bag  and  away  they  went, 
down  the  pathway,  across  the  meadows,  to  a 
field  where  ever  so  much  cotton  was  growing. 

"Now,"  said  Mr.  Cottonstalk,  "get  to 
work.  This  is  my  field  and  you  may  fill  your 
bag  full  of  cotton.  When  you  have  finished, 
pick  out  all  the  seeds  and  bring  them  to  me, 
to  be  planted  for  other  aprons,  you  know." 

Polly  thought  that  was  very  queer,  but 
went  quietly  to  work  as  he  had  told  her. 

She  picked  and  picked  and  picked,  until 
by  and  by  the  bag  was  full. 

Then  she  picked  out  all  the  seeds, — picked 
and  picked  and  picked, —  which  was  a  very 
hard  task  indeed,  and  gave  them  to  Mr.  Cot- 
tonstalk. 


'So  Polly  got  the  bag  and  away  they  went' 


—  20  — 

"What  now?"  asked  Polly  Flinders,  feel- 
ing very  warm.  "This  isn't  any  apron  !" 

"Not  yet,  of  course,"  replied  Mr.  Cotton- 
stalk.  "It  is  only  the  beginning  of  a  white 
apron.  You  have  been  a  smart  little  girl, 
though,  and  have  worked  bravely.  Now  do 


"Polly  thanked  Mr.  Cottonstalk,  and  off  she  went" 

what  I  tell  you  and  the  white  apron  shall  be 
yours.  Put  the  bag  of  cotton  on  your  back 
and  carry  it  to  London  Town,  where  there 
is  a  large  factory.  Then  the  factory  man  will 
tell  you  what  next  to  do." 


—  21  — 

Polly  Flinders  was  very  tired,  but  thanked 
Mr.  Cottonstalk,  and  off  she  went,  over  the 
field,  across  the  stile  to  London  Town. 

At  last  she  came  to  the  factory,  where  she 
put  down  her  bag.  Such  a  hum  and  buzz  of 
wheels  she  had  never  heard  before !  Round 
and  round  they  whirled,  singing  merrily: 

Over  and  over  and  over  we  go, 
Spinning  the  cotton,  as  white  as  the  snow, 
Weaving  the  cloth  for  aprons,  you  know, 
So  over  and  over  and  over  we  go  ! 

-Well!"  said  Polly  Flinders.  "How 
strange!  That  is  just  what  I  wanted  you  to 
do  for  me." 

So  she  untied  her  bag,  and  the  factory 
man  said:  "To  be  sure.  Just  bring  your 
cotton  this  way  and  empty  it  into  the  bin. 
Now  wait  a  minute;  it  won't  be  long  before 
these  wheels  have  your  cloth  ready.  Watch  !" 

Polly  Flinders  could  hardly  believe  her 
own  eyes  when  she  saw  her  cotton  drawn 


—  22  — 

out  into  a  long,  long  thread. 
It  grew  finer  and  finer,  cross- 
ing and  recrossing  like  this: 

Then  with  a  spinning  whir  the  wheels 
stopped,  and  the  factory  man  said:  "Your 
cloth  is  finished,  Polly  Flinders.  Take  it  to 
your  mother  and  have  her  make  you  a  new 
white  apron.  But  wait,  I'll  just  blow  you 
back  to  the  village.  Puff-f !  puff-f !  puff-f !  and 
away  you  go!"  My!  Polly  Flinders  opened 
her  eyes  very  wide  and, — guess  what?  She 
was  sitting  on  her  own  doorstep! 

Just  then  her  mother  called:  "Run  here, 
Polly,  and'  see  what  I  have  made  for  you." 

And  there  was  a  new  white  apron,  with 
ruffles  on  it ! 


The  Crooked  Mans  Story 


ONE  morning  Elizabeth,  Elspeth,  Betsy, 
and  Bess  started  out  for  a  walk  on 
Primrose  Hill. 

They  climbed  the  narrow  path,  one  behind 
the  other,  and  as  they  passed  a  wild  rose- 
bush, what  do  you  think  they  found?  All 
tucked  away  among  the  frail  pink  roses  was  a 
bird-nest  home,  snug  and  warm  and  round. 
In  it  were  four  dainty  eggs  —  all  blue! 

-Oh— oh!"  said  Elizabeth.  "Oh— oh!" 
said  Elspeth,  Betsy,  and  Bess.  "  Let's  take 
them  home  to  show  the  babies,"  said  Elizabeth. 


"/«  it  were  four  dainty 


—  25  -M 

"  Yes,  let's  do,"  said  Elspeth,  Betsy,  and  Bess. 
So  each  little  girl  took  an  egg,  and  that  left 
none. 

''Let's  go  home  by  the  Crooked  Man's 
house,  and  get  him  to  tell  us  a  story,"  said 
Elizabeth. 

"Yes,  let's  do,"  said  Elspeth,  Betsy,  and 
Bess. 

So  off  they  started  down  the  path  to  the 
Crooked  Man's  house,  one  behind  the  other. 

"And  what  shall  I  tell  you  about?"  said 
the  Crooked  Man,  when  the  little  girls  were 
seated  around  his  crooked  chair.  "About 
birds,"  said  Elizabeth.  "Yes-s,  do,"  said 
Elspeth,  Betsy,  and  Bess. 

So  the  Crooked  Man  crossed  his  legs,  shut 
his  eyes  and  began :  Once  upon  a  time  two 
robins  married  on  Saint  Valentine's  day. 
They  were  very  happy,  and  all  day  long  sang, 
"I  love  you!  I  love  you!  Joy,  joy,  joy!" 
For  what  did  they  know  of  sorrow  then? 


—  26  — 

"And  now,"  said  Mr.  Robin,  looking 
fondly  at  his  wife,  "my  dear,  we  must  build 
our  home  somewhere  in  a  very  safe  place, 
you  know.  For  by  and  by  when  the  eggs 
are  laid  and  the  baby  robins  come, —  oh,  joy, 
joy,  joy!  —  they  must  find  a  place  to  rest." 

"I  know  a  beautiful  place,"  said  Mrs. 
Robin,  "a  most  beautiful  place.  Come  and 
see!" 

So  she  led  the  way  to  a  hill,  where  a  wild 
rosebush  grew,  its  blossoms  and  leaves  rich 
with  beauty.  The  robins  worked  busily  until 
the  nest  was  finished,  and  it  was  such  a  dainty, 
pretty  home,  hidden  among  the  blossoms. 
One  day  Mrs.  Robin  laid  an  egg,  a  blue 
one.  Then  another,  and  another,  and 
another,  until  there  were  four  blue 
eggs  in  the  nest.  That  was  a  joy. 
And  in  the  four  blue  eggs 
were  four  baby  robins, 
as  yet 


—  27  — 

not  waked  up.  They  kept  growing  and  grow- 
ing and  growing,  though,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Robin  were  longing  and  waiting  for  the  day 
to  come  when  their  babies  would  break 
through  the  blue  egg-shells,  and  nestle  to- 
gether with  them  in  the  pretty  home  nest. 
That  would  be  joy  indeed.  And  so  they 
warbled  from  morning  till  night,  "  I  love  you ! 
I  love  you!  Joy,  joy,  joy!" 

"  But,"  said  Mrs.  Robin,  "s'pose  some  one 
should  steal  our  pretty  blue  eggs  while  we  are 
out  hunting  something  to  eat?" 

"Dear,  dear,"  said  Mr.  Robin,  "a  trick 
so  mean  as  that?  Why,  no  one  in  Mother 
Goose  Village  would  do  a  thing  so  mean!" 

Then  the  Crooked  Man  looked  at  Eliza- 
beth, Elizabeth  looked  at  Elspeth,  Elspeth 
looked  at  Betsy,  and  Betsy  looked  at  Bess. 

Then  they  put  their  hands  behind  them, 
and  Elizabeth  said:  "Please,  Mr.  Crooked 
Man,  we  will  have  to  go  now."  "Yes,  we 


—  28  — 

will  have  to  go  now,"  said  Elspeth,  Betsy,  and 
Bess.  And  so  they  passed  down  the  garden 
walk  and  through  the  little  crooked  gate. 
Then  up  the  path  to  Primrose  Hill  they 
marched,  one  behind  the  other. 


"  To  Primrose  Hill  they  marched, 
one  behind  the  other" 


If  you  will  climb  to  the  top  of  Primrose 
Hill,  and  peep  into  the  wild  rosebush  nest, 
you  will  find  four  blue  eggs,  safe  and  sound. 

Now,  how  do  you  suppose  they  got  back? 


TOMMY  GRACE  had  a  most  dreadful 
toothache.  How  he  did  cry!  Noth- 
ing seemed  to  do  him  any  good.  His  mother 
tried,  his  father  tried,  and  even  Tommy  Long 
tried  his  funny  song,  but  Tommy  Grace  only 
cried  the  louder.  "  Boo-ta>o,  boo-hoo!  It 
hurts  me  so,  I  don't  know  wkat  to  do." 

Mother  Goose  heard  Tommy  Grace,  and 
she  said:  "I  know  what  to  do.  You  go  to 
Dr.  Foster  s  office  and  let  him  pall  that  tooth, 
then  come  round  to  my  house  this  afternoon 
and  we'll  have  a  party.  You  may  invite  all 


—  30  — 

of  the  Tommies  in  the  village,  and  we  will 
call  it  a  Tommy  party." 

That  made  Tommy  Grace  smile,  so  he  got 
his  cap  and  off  he  ran  to  Dr.  Foster's  office, 
with  tears  and  smiles  mixed  up  together. 

"Hi,  there!"  said  Dr.  Foster.  "Little 
Tommy  Grace,  I  do  believe!  Climb  right 
into  this  big  chair  by  the  window.  Now  open 
your  mouth  and  shut  your  eyes,  and  that 
tooth  will  be  gone  in  a  twinkle.  Why,  it's 
nothing  more  than  a  baby  tooth.  One,  two, 
three,  and  out  it  comes ! " 

Why,  it  was  done  so  quickly  that  Tommy 
Grace  forgot  to  scream.  Dr.  Foster  wrapped 
the  tooth  in  a  piece  of  pink  tissue  paper  and 
gave  it  to  him  to  show  Mother  Goose.  Then 
away  ran  Tommy  Grace,  as  happy  as  a  king. 

That  very  afternoon  he  went  to  the  party. 
The  table  was  set  out  under  the  trees,  and  cov- 
ered with  sugar  and  spice  and  all  things  nice. 

There  were  ten   little   chairs   around  the 


'Hi,  there!'  said  Dr.  Foster' 


1 After  they  had  left  the  table  they  played  'blind  man's  buff" 


—  33  — 

table,  all  ready  for  the  ten  little  Tommies. 
Ten  little  plates  and  ten  little  glasses,  and 
ten  little  bunches  of  violets  waiting  to  be 
pinned  on  the  ten  little  Tommies. 

Tommy  Grace  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table, 
and  Tommy  Tucker  sat  at  the  foot.  On  one 
side  sat  Tommy  Green,  Tommy  Tittlemouse, 
Tommy  Trout,  and  Lazy  Tom.  On  the 
other  side  sat  Tommy  Snooks,  Tom  Piper, 
Tom  Thumb,  and  Tommy  Tinker.  Such  a 
merry  set  of  Tommies !  Such  a  merry  party! 

After  they  had  left  the  table  they  played 
" blind  man's  buff"  and  "leap  frog."  Then 
Mother  Goose  gave  them  each  a  ride  home 
on  her  gander. 

And  that  was  the  end  of  the  Tommy  party. 


Schoolmasters  Pie 


YOU  have  heard  about  Jack  Homer's 
Christmas  pie;  of  course  you  have- 
how  he  put  in  his  thumb  and  pulled  out  a 
plum,  and  said  what  a  great  boy  am  I. 

But  Jack  Horner  had  never  stopped  to 
think  how  many  people  it  took  to  make  a 
Christmas  pie.  So  the  Schoolmaster  thought 
it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  have  a  plum-pie 
lesson. 

Now  the  Schoolmaster  in  Mother  Goose 
Village  did  not  use  books  in  his  school.  The 
children  just  studied  "things,"  as  Rowley 


—  34  — 


—  35  — 

Powley  said.  That  meant  anything  you  saw 
and  wanted  to  learn  about.  If  you  could,  you 
brought  the  " thing"  to  the  school,  and  if  you 
couldn't,  why,  the  Schoolmaster  took  the  chil- 
dren to  the  "thing."  If  it  were  sheep  and 
cows,  they  went  to  the  meadows ;  if  it  were 
birds  or  trees,  they  went  to  the  woods,  and  if 
it  were  rocks  or  fish,  they  went  to  the.  creek. 
So  you  see  what  good  times  they  always  had. 

One  morning,  just  before  Christmas,  the 
children  marched  into  school  and  took  their 
seats  in  the  pretty  red  chairs  which  were 
placed  in  a  large  circle.  The  Schoolmaster 
put  something  in  the  center  which  was  large 
and  round,  and  all  covered  over.  Then  he 
said,  "You  may  guess  what  our  lesson  is  to 
be  about  to-day." 

"Blackbirds  and  buzzards!"  said  Simple 
Simon.  "Oranges!"  said  Little  Tee  Wee. 
"Candy! "said  Jack-a-Dandy.  "Nuts! "said 
Johnny  Pringle.  "Eggs, eggs! "said  Humpty 


/«  the  center  was  something  large  and  round'' 


—  37  — 

Dumpty.     "Plums,  cake,  pie! "'said  others  in 
a  chorus. 

"Yes,  pie,  to  be  sure!"  said  the  School- 
master, as  he  lifted  the  cover. 

''First,  we  will  learn  what  this  pie  is 
made  of. 

"Second,  how  many  it  took  to  make  the  pie. 

"Third,  how  the  pie  tastes. 

"Now  put  on  your  thinking  caps  and  let 
us  get  to  work." 

Well,    they   started   with    the   crust,  and 
named  everything  in  the  pie. 

flour          water  salt  butter 

milk          eggs  sugar       spices 

raisins       currants      citron       plums 

Then  they  learned  what  family  each  thing 
belonged  to,  and  how  it  got  to  the  pie. 

grain  family  animal  family 

mineral  family  fruit  family 

man's  family 


—  38  — 

The  three  animals  that  helped  the  Christ- 
mas pie  were  the  cow,   the  hen,   and  the 
horse.     The  people  who  helped  were  the 
farmer        miller        tinner        porter 
grocer        father        mother      cook 


"Everybody  had  a  slice* 


The  longer  they  thought,  the  more  things 
they  found  which  helped  to  make  that  pie. 

Tommy  Green  thought  of  the  trees  that 
made  the  fire,  and  Tommy  Trout  thought  of 


—  39 — 

the  match  used  to  kindle  it,  while  Sally 
Waters  named  the  stove  that  cooked  it. 

Taffy  Welchman  named  the  plow  and 
seed,  and  Curly  Locks  the  sun  and  rain. 

Jack  Horner  thought  so  hard  that  he  even 


'//  tasted  like  more  " 


named  the  grass  and  clover  which  the  cow 
ate  to  make  the  milk  and  butter  used  in  the 


pie. 


Yes,"  said  the  Schoolmaster  with  a  smile, 


—  40  — 

as  he  looked  straight  at  Jack,  "we  see  what 
a  great  thing  is  a  Christmas  pie." 

Then  the  pie  was  cut  and  everybody  had 
a  slice. 

Humpty  Dumpty  said  it  tasted  like  more. 
It  was  a  very  good  pie  indeed,  so  good  that 
the  children  wanted  to  get  the  lesson  over 
again.  But  dear  me,  the  Mother  Goose  chil- 
dren never  have  to  get  a  lesson  over, — no  in- 
deed. 


Dan 


ONE  day  Bobby  Shaftoe  and  Little  Miss 
Muffet  were  playing  under  the  apple 
tree  at  the  Crooked  Man's  house. 

Every  child  in  the  village  loved  the 
Crooked  Man,  and  liked  to  go  to  his  crooked 
house. 

Maybe  it  was  because  he  knew  so  many 
stories.  Why,  bless  you,  all  you  had  to  do 
was  to  name  what  you  wanted  to  hear  about, 
and  the  Crooked  Man  leaned  back  in  his 
chair,  shut  his  eyes,  crossed  his  legs,  and  the 
story  came. 


—  42  - 

Well,  as  I  was  saying,  Bobby  Shaftoe  and 
Little  Miss  Muffet  were  playing  under  his 
apple  tree.  All  at  once  Miss  Muffet  gave  a 
most  dreadful  scream.  My!  how  she  did 
hollo.  Bobby  Shaftoe  thought  surely  a  spider 
had  her.  And  the  Crooked  Man  thought  it 
was  a  spider,  too.  So  he  came  with  a  hobble 
down  the  walk,  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 
Little  Miss  Muffet  was  dancing  all  around 
the  apple  tree;  and, — g^less  what?  A 

caterpillar  was  crawling  on   her  sleeve. 

Why!"  said  the  Crooked  Man,  "I'm  so 
glad  it  wasn't  a  spider  which  frightened  you. 
It  is  only  my  little  friend,  the  caterpillar.  I 
will  place  him  here  on  this  sprig  of  apple 
leaves.  You  may  watch  him  eat  his  dinner 
while  I  tell  you  a  tale  about  his  cousin,  a 
caterpillar  I  once  knew." 

Then  the  Crooked  Man  sat  on  the  bench 
beneath  the  tree,  with  Bobby  Shaftoe  on  one 
side  and  Little  Miss  Muffet  on  the  other. 


"     -JJI 

"Bobby  Shaftoe  on  one  side  and  Little  Miss  Muffet  on  the  other' 


—  44  - 

"Well,"  he  said,  "the  caterpillar  I  knew 
was  named  Danais  Archippus.  But  his 
name  was  such  a  long  one,  I  called  him 
'Dan,'  for  short.  He  was  a  fine  looking 
fellow,  with  black  and  yellow  bands  along 
his  back.  His  home  was  a  big  milkweed 
which  grew  in  one  corner  of  Mary  Contrary's 
garden,  and  he  spent  his  whole  time  eating. 
He  was  as  fat  as  fat  could  be.  And  yet, 
Dan  never  seemed  to  have  enough.  Three 
times  had  he  burst  through  the  skin  of  his 
pretty  striped  coat,  and  three  times  had  a  new 
one  grown  in  its  place. 

"  Now,  Dan  had  been  a  very  happy  fellow, 
and  content  with  a  caterpillar's  life,  until  one 
day  when  he  saw  a  butterfly.  Then  the  cake 
was  all  dough. 

"He  watched,  with  longing  eyes, 
the  butterfly  flit  by.     Over  the  roses  and  lilies 

and  heads  of  nodding  clover, 

she  skimmed. 


—  45  — 

"  Pausing  now  and  then  on  the  breast  of  a 
rose  to  rest,  Dan  noticed  her  beautiful  wings, 
black  and  shining  like  satin,  with  orange-red 
dots  scattered  over. 

"'Oh,'  said  Dan,  'if  I  could  only  fly  like 
that !  What  wings !  What  a  life  to  live ! ' 


"Her  wings  spread  to  the  sunlight" 

"'And  so  you  think  you  would  like  to  fly, 
Dan?'  The  voice  was  close  to  his  side,  and 
looking  up  he  saw  the  butterfly,  her  wings 
spread  to  the  sunlight.  'I?  Fly?  Yes,  yes!' 
he  said,  'but  how  could  such  a  thing  be?' 

'"Why  not?'  replied  the  butterfly,  'stranger 
things  have  happened.  If  I  was  once  a  cater- 
pillar, why  can't  you  become  a  butterfly?' 


—  46  — 

'"You  once  a  caterpillar,  like  me?  Where 
did  you  ever  get  your  wings?' 

'"I  just  believed  that  I  would  have  them, 
and  then  I  waited,'  said  the  butterfly.  'That 
is  what  you  must  do.  Live  your  best  life 
now,  and  God  will  do  the  rest.'  Then  the 
butterfly  flew  away,  and  left  Dan  thinking." 

"And  did  he  really  become  a  butterfly?" 
asked  Little  Miss  Muffet.  But  the  Crooked 
Man  only  smiled  and  went  on.  "Well,  Dan 
grew  fatter  and  fatter  until  he  had  to  have 
another  new  coat.  Then  one  day  he  felt  so 
sleepy  he  decided  to  take  a  rest.  He  swung 
himself  to  the  milkweed  with  a  strong  silken 
thread  which  he  had  spun,  and  in  place  of 
the  coat  he  had  been  wearing  there  came 
another,  a  beautiful  coat  of  emerald  green. 

"One  morning  he  stirred,  opened  his  eyes, 
and  stretched  his  slender  body.  I  could  hear 
him  moving  about  in  his  queer  little  cradle. 
I  knew  it  would  not  be  long  before  he  crawled 


—  47  — 

out,  and  I  smiled  to  think  of  the  joy  ahead 
of  him. 

"'Goodness!'  said  Dan,  when  he  had 
stretched  and  stretched,  'it  is  too  warm  in 
this  hot,  close  place  for  me.  I  must  have 
been  sleeping  a  very  long  time  indeed.  How 
I  long  for  a  breath  of  fresh  air,  and  for  the 
glorious  sunshine!  I  must  get  out  of  here  in 
a  hurry/ 

"So  Dan,  in  his  snug  bed,  pushed  and 
pushed,  and  struggled  and  struggled,  and 
then, — oh,  joy!  one  end  of  the  cradle  came 
open.  He  felt  very  queer,  not  like  a  cater- 
pillar at  all.  And  what  were  those  queer 
folded  things  at  his  sides  ?  Slowly  he  opened 
them  out  wide,  like  tiny  fairy  fans  of  gauze. 

"'Wings!  wings!  wings!'  said  Dan.  'I 
do  believe  I  have  wings  at  last.' 

"Then  away  he  flew  over  the  sweet-scented 
garden,  and  his  wings,  spread  wide  in  the 
yellow  sunlight,  were  a  velvety  black,  with 


—  48  — 

orange-red  dots  scattered  over  them.     I  heard 
him  sing  as  he  passed  me  by: 

A  butterfly,  a  butterfly.     Oh,  happy  am  I ! 
With  wings  full  of  joy,  I  mount  the  blue  sky. 

I  dance  with  a  sunbeam,  I  waltz  with  a  breeze; 
On  the  breast  of  a  rose.  I  rest  when  I  please. 

I  drink  from  the  cup  of  the  lily  so  fair, 

And  waft  her  a  kiss,  as  I  sail  through  the  air. 

Then  on  like  a  zephyr,  so  gayly  I  fly,— 
A  butterfly,  a  butterfly.     Oh,  happy  am  I ! 


TITTLE  Tommy  Tucker  came  singing 
i  ^  down  the  village  street.  He  was  on 
his  way  to  the  Old  Woman  who  Lived 
under  the  Hill.  She  sold  pies  and  cakes 
and  buns,  and  Tommy  Tucker  wanted  a 
fresh,  hot  bun  for  his  supper. 

"  I  have  just  sold  out,  Tommy  Tucker," 
said  the  Old  Woman.  "I  haven't  a  dust  of 
flour.  But  go  to  the  grocer  and  buy  me  a 
sack.  I  will  then  bake  you  a  fresh,  hot  bun." 

So  Tommy  Tucker  went  on  singing,  until 
he  reached  the  store.  Then  he  said,  "Oh, 


—  49  — 


—  50  — 

grocer,  please  sell  me  a  sack  of  flour.  I  will 
take  it  to  the  Old  Woman  under  the  Hill; 
she  will  bake  me  a  fresh,  hot  bun,  and  I  will 
sing  you  a  song." 

But  the  grocer  shook  his  head.  "  No  dust 
of  flour  have  I,  Tommy  Tucker,  unless  the 
miller  first  grinds  the  wheat.  Then  I  can 
give  you  the  sack  of  flour,  and  then  you  may 
sing  me  a  song." 

So  Tommy  Tucker  went  to  the  Miller  of 
Dee.  "Oh,  miller,  please  grind  some  wheat, 
so  that  the  grocer  may  sell  me  a  sack  of  flour. 
I  will  take  the  flour  to  the  Old  Woman  under 
the  Hill;  she  will  bake  me  a  fresh,  hot  bun 
for  my  supper,  and  I  will  sing  you  a  song." 

But  the  miller  shook  his  head  and  said: 
"I  cannot  grind  the  wheat  for  the  grocer, 
unless  the  farmer  first  brings  me  the  grain. 
Then  will  I  grind  it  into  flour,  and  then  you 
may  sing  me  a  song." 

Tommy  Tucker's  feet  were  beginning  to 


*No  dust  of  flour  have  I,  Tommy  Tucker' 


—  52  — 

get  very  tired.    He  wanted  his  supper,  though, 
so  he  ran  to  the  farmer. 

"  Oh,  farmer,  please  give  me  a  load  of  grain, 
so  that  the  miller  may  grind  some  wheat,  and 


'But  the  miller  shook  his  head" 


the  grocer  sell  me  a  sack  of  flour.  I  will  take 
the  flour  to  the  Old  Woman  under  the  Hill; 
she  will  bake  me  a  fresh,  hot  bun  for  my 
supper,  and  I  will  sing  you  a  song." 


baked  a  fresh,  hot  bun  for  his  supper' 


—  54  — 

Then  the  farmer  said:  "To  be  sure, 
Tommy  Tucker,  to  be  sure  I  will.  Because 
last  spring  my  horse  plowed  the  field,  I 
planted  the  seed  which  the  sun  warmed,  the 
earth  fed,  and  the  rain  watered.  It  grew 
and  ripened,  so  now  my  barn  is  full,  and  you 
are  welcome." 

Then  Tommy  Tucker  sang  his  song;  the 
farmer  took  the  wheat  to  the  mill;  the  miller 
ground  the  flour;  the  grocer  sold  a  sack  to 
Tommy  Tucker;  he  took  it  to  the  Old 
Woman  under  the  Hill,  and  she  baked  a 
fresh,  hot  bun  for  his  supper 

Dear  little  Tommy  Tucker! 


JACK-BE-NIMBLE  had  never  had  a 
party. 

True,  he  had  gone  to  all  the  parties  in 
Mother  Goose  Village,  but  "that  isn't 
like  giving  a  party  yourself,"  said  Jack-be- 
Nimble.  And  it  isn't. 

Now,  at  parties  you  have  candies  and 
cakes  and  ice-cream,  and  ever  so  many  other 
things  that  Jack-be-Nimble's  grandmother 
knew  he  couldn't  have  because  they  cost  so 
much  money,  you  see. 

"Anyway,  you  do  not  need  so  many  things 


—  55  — 


—  56  — 

at  a  party,"  said  his 
grandmother. 

''Let  me  see.  We 
have  plenty  of  ap- 
ples; the  tree  is  full. 
CrWhy   not    give    an 

apple  party?" 

Jack-be-Nimble  thought  that 
would  be  better  than  no  party 
at  all,  so  he  said  he  would  try  it. 

His  grandmother  painted  a  red  apple  in 
the  corner  of  the   invitations,  and    Jack-be- 
Nimble  carried  them  around 
to  the  village  children. 

When  he  got  back  home  he 
climbed  the  apple  tree  and 
shook  down  the  apples,  while 
his  grandmother  filled  the 
baskets. 

Well,  at  last  everything 
was  ready,  even  to  the  favors, 


—  57  — 

which  were  apple  pincushions,  made  of  red, 
yellow,  and  green  silk  stuffed  with  wool. 

They  looked  so  much  like  fresh,  ripe 
apples  that  you  almost  wanted  to  bite  them. 
And  you  couldn't  tell  which  you  liked  best, 
the  red  one,  the  green  one,  or  the  yellow  one. 

The  children  came  at  sunset,  and  were 
soon  having  so  much  fun  they  did  not  even 
have  time  to  think  about  candy  and  cake. 

All  the  games  they  played  were  apple 
games.  First,  there  weie  two  large  tubs  filled 
with  water  on  the  lawn.  Floating  in  one  tub 
were  apples  for  the  boys  to  bob  for,  and  float- 
ing in  the  other  tub  were  apples  for  the  girls 
to  bob  for.  You  had  to  pull  them  out  of  the 
water  with  your  teeth,  and  when  you  ate  the 
apple  you  found  inside  the  name  of  the  one 
who  loved  you  best. 

That  was  heaps  of  fun,  though  the  chil- 
dren got  their  noses  and  eyes  dripping  with 
water.  Next  they  played  two  games  of  hiding 


The  children  got  their  noses  and  eyes  dripping  with  water' 


—  59  — 

an  apple.  One  was  like  our  old- 
fashioned  thimble  play,  where  the 
apple  is  hidden  in  some  child's 
hand.  The  other  was  called 
"magic  music."  In  this  the  apple 
was  hidden  and  then  found  to 
music,  Tommy  Piper  playing  very 
loudly  when  the  seeker  came  near 
the  apple,  and  very  softly  when 
not  near. 

After  this  the  game  of  "swing- 
ing apples"  kept  them  all  laugh- 
ing. From  the  limbs  of  the  trees 
on  the  lawn,  apples  had  been 
swung  by  long  strings  tied  to  the 
stems.  You  might  eat  as  many 
of  them  as  you  could,  only  you 
must  not  touch  them  with  your 
hands. 

Jumping  over  the  candlestick 
was  fun,  too.  This  was  done  to 


The  funny  old 
candlestick 


—  60  — 

find  out  which  couple  should  lead  in  the 
march  to  the  party  table. 

The  candle  was  lighted  and  placed  on  the 
lawn,  and  each  child  had  one  jump  over  it. 

Jack-be-Nimble  made  the  highest  jump, 
and  little  Nancy  Etticote  came  next,  so  they 
led  the  way  to  the  party  table. 

There  were  many  good  things  to  eat,  too, 
—  all  made  out  of  apples.  Apples  raw, 
roasted,  and  baked.  Apple  pie,  apple  tarts, 
arid  apple  float,  and  tiny  mugs  of  fresh  apple 
cider. 

Now  wasn't  that  a  very  good  party?  The 
children  thought  so,  and  they  kept  their  apple 
seeds  to  plant  so  they  could  give  an  apple 
party  some  day,  like  Jack-be-Nimble's. 


~_ i— y 

CurlyLocksTeas         \ 


ONE  morning  Peter  Piper  got  to  school 
very  late.  The  Schoolmaster  called 
him  a  ten  o'clock  scholar,  and  asked  him  why 
he  came  so  late. 

Peter  Piper  smiled  and  held  out  his  hat, 
which  was  brimful  of  pea  pods. 

Then  all  the  other  children  smiled.  Peter 
Piper  was  always  stopping  to  pick  something; 
once  it  had  been  a  peck  of  pickled  peppers. 

" Please,  sir,"  said  Peter  Piper,  "I  picked 
these  on  the  way  to  school,  and  brought  them 
to  learn  about.  Will  you  tell  us  a  story?" 


—  61  — 


-  62  — 

Then  the  Schoolmaster  smiled,  but  he 
took  up  one  of  the  pea  pods  and  told  them  a 
most  beautiful  story  about  five  little  sisters 
who  slept  in  the  pea-pod  cradle,  and  how 
some  sunbeam  fairies  and  many  raindrop 
fairies  were  waiting  to  wake  them.  Only  some 
one  would  first  have  to  tuck  them  away  in 
the  great  brown  bed  which  mother  earth  kept 
for  her  seed  babies. 

Then,  while  some  of  the  children  took  clay 
and  modeled  the  five  little  sisters  in  the  pod, 
others  drew  and  painted  their  picture.  After 
that  the  Schoolmaster  divided  all  the  pea 
pods  among  the  children,  and  each  child 
had  two  pods.  That  made  ten  peas,  you 
know. 

"  Now  we  will  play  soldier  with  our  peas," 
said  the  Schoolmaster,  "and  see  into  how 
many  even  rows  they  can  march."  So  they 
marched  their  soldiers  in  a  row  of  one's  like 

this:OOQOOOOOOQ 


The  Schoolmaster  tells  a  story  about  the  peas 


—  64  - 

And  in  rows  of  two's  like  this: 

ooooo 
ooooo 

And  in  rows  of  five's  like  this: 

OQ 

00 

oo 

OQ 
oo 

When  the  soldiers  got  tired  of  marching, 
the  Schoolmaster  gave  each  child  ten  tooth- 
picks, and  told  them  to  make  something 
pretty  to  carry  home. 

Simple  Simon  made  some  hat  pins; 


65  — 


Margery  Daw  made  some  hairpins; 


Rowley  Powley  made  a  ladder; 


Humpty  Dumpty  made  a 
pretty  picture  frame; 


Tommy  Grace  made  a  chair; 


Dicky  Long  made  a  doll; 


Polly  Flinders  made  a  very  nice  table; 


and — well,  everybody  made  something,  except 
Curly  Locks.  She  only  sat  still  and  watched 
the  others.  The  Schoolmaster  said:  "I'm 
sorry  Curly  Locks  can't  make  anything. 


—  67  — 

Shall  I  show  you  how  to  make  your  doll  a 
sofa?" 

But  Curly  Locks  only  shook  her  head  and 
said:  "Please,  sir,  I'd  rather  take  mine 
home." 

The  children  thought  that  was  very  queer, 
and  wondered  why  Curly  Locks  wouldn't 
rather  have  the  sofa. 

Curly  Locks  knew.  She  was  thinking 
about  the  ten  little  sleeping  sisters  in  the 
pods  she  had.  If  she  stuck  the  toothpicks  in 
them, — why! — they  would  never  wake  up. 
After  school  she  ran  home  and  made  ten  little 
holes  under  the  dining-room  window.  Into 
each  little  hole  she  dropped  a  pea  and  covered 
it  softly  over.  The  sunbeam  fairies  and  the 
raindrop  fairies  were  watching,  and  they 
smiled,  every  one,  while  Curly  Locks  planted 
the  peas. 

You  should  have  seen  how  quickly  they 
waked  up,  too.  Pretty  soon  Curly  Locks  had 


—  68  — 

to  tie  ten  strong  strings  to  the  dining-room 
window,  and  the  peas  climbed  all  the  way  up 
to  make  her  a  morning  call. 

There  were  pretty  leaves  and  pretty  blos- 
soms, and  by  and  by  pretty  pods,  with  the 
fattest  of  sister  peas  tucked  inside. 

It  was  then  that  Curly  Locks  invited  the 
Schoolmaster  and  the  children  home  to 
dinner. 

And  what  do  you  suppose  she  gave  them 
to  eat  ?  Why ! — peas  porridge  hot,  to  be  sure  ! 

Very  much  better  than  making  chairs  and 
sofas,  don't  you  think  so? 


irthdav  Dolls 


JACK  and  Jill  were  twins.  That  meant 
that  one  was  just  as  old  as  the  other. 

They  were  just  as  much  alike  as  two  peas, 
and  would  most  surely  have  gotten  mixed  up 
if  it  hadn't  been  for  Jack's  trousers. 

Their  hair  and  eyes  and  nose  and  mouth 
were  all  made  by  the  same  pattern.  That's 
why  they  looked  so  much  alike.  They  lived 
with  their  mother  at  the  foot  of  a  big  hill,  the 
same  hill  where  Jack  fell  down  and  broke 
his  crown,  and  Jill  came  tumbling  after. 

Well,  one  morning  Jack  and  Jill  waked 


—  6g  — 


—  70  — 

up  very,  very  happy.  You 
see  it  was  their  birthday, 
and  they  were  looking  for 
all  kinds  of  fun. 

"I'm  six  years  old  to- 
day," said  Jack. 

"I'm  six  years  old  to- 
day," said  Jill. 

Then  their  mother  kissed  them 
each  six  times,  and  sent  them  off  to  school. 
The  Schoolmaster  thought  birthdays 
should  be  the  happiest  days  of  all  the  year,  so 
he  told  the  other  children  to  do  all  they  could 
that  day  to  make  Jack  and  Jill  happy. 

The  children  made  two  beautiful  crowns 
of  clover,  and  two  beautiful  daisy  chains,  one 
for  Jack  and  one  for  Jill,  and  crowned  them 
king  and  queen  on  a  birthday  throne  made 
from  honeysuckle  vines. 

Then  they  formed  a  large  circle  under  the 
trees,  and  played  the  games  Jack  and  Jill 


—  71  — 

liked  best.  When  it  was 
time  to  go  home,  the  twins 
stood  in  the  center  of  the 
circle  while  the  School- 
master and  the  children 
shook  hands  with  them 
and  said:  "We  wish  you 
many,  many  happy  birthdays." 

At   home    they  found   another 
surprise.      Mother  Goose  had  sent  a  box  on 
which  was  written : 

"A  birthday  gift  for  Jack  and  Jill 
Who  carry  water  down  the  hill." 

Inside  of  the  box  were  two  dolls,  exactly 
alike,  only  one  was  dressed  in  trousers  and 
the  other  in  skirts.  Mother  Goose  believed 
in  dolls.  She  said  every  boy  and  girl  should 
have  one  if  they  wished  to  make  good  fathers 
and  mothers. 

Anyway,  Jack  was  very  proud  of  his  doll, 
and  for  hours  he  and  Jill  often  played  a  game 


—  72  — 

called  "Lady  come  to  see  you,"  without  get- 
ting tired. 

One  day  both  the  dolls  got  sick  with 
whooping-cough.  Jill  played  she  was  a 
trained  nurse,  and  Jack  played  he  was  Doctor 
Foster. 

He  fixed  up  ever  so  many  bread-crumb 
pills,  and  a  bottle  of  watermelon  juice  for 
medicine. 

Then  Doctor  Jack  went  to  see  the  sick 
dolls,  and  slowly  felt  each  pulse.  He 
shook  his  head.  They  were  very,  very  sick. 
And  although  the  trained  nurse  gave  the 
bread-crumb  pills  and  watermelon  juice,  it 
did  no  good.  Both  dolls  died. 

Jack  and  Jill  buried  them  in  a  sand  bank 
near  the  fence.  Then  Jill  cried,  until  Jack 
called  her  a  cry  baby,  and  said  the  dolls  were 
not  truly  true  dead,  but  only  play  like.  To- 
morrow they  would  dig  them  up  and  they 
would  be  as  well  as  ever.  Then  Jill  felt 


"Jack  and  Jill  buried  them  in  a  sand  bank  near  the  fence" 


-  74  - 

better.  Together  they  covered  the  graves 
with  roses  and  pinks,  and  placed  small  white 
rocks  around  them  for  a  border.  Just  then 
the  supper  bell  rang,  and  they  ran  to  get 
ready.  After  supper  they  went  to  bed. 

Jill  thought  of  the  dolls  the  first  thing  in 
the  morning,  but  they  had  to  hurry  off  to 
school,  so  could  not  dig  them  up.  All  day 
long  she  thought  about  the  dolls,  and  after 
school  she  and  Jack  hurried  to  the  sand  bank 
to  get  them. 

They  dug  and  dug  and  dug.  But  no 
dolls  could  they  find.  Both  were  lost  in  the 
sand.  Jack  and  Jill  were  very  sad.  Tears 
streamed  down  their  cheeks. 

"Boo-hoo-hoo,"  said  Jack,  and  "  Boo-hoo- 
hoo,"  said  Jill.     ''We'll  never 
play  burying  any  more." 
And  they  never  did 


Little'SX^e  Pumpkins 

HTK  ankscMvi 


IT  was  the  night  before  Thanksgiving.  The 
Great  Big  Pumpkin,  the  Middle  Size 
Pumpkin,  and  the  Little  Wee  Pumpkin  were 
talking  together  in  Peter  Pumpkineater's 
patch. 

The  Frost  King  had  sent  them  each  a 
pretty  white  coat  for  a  Thanksgiving  offer- 
ing, and  they  sparkled  in  the  moonlight. 

"All  here?"  said  the  Great  Big  Pumpkin, 
gayly. 

"All  here,"  said  the  Middle  Size  Pump- 
kin, smiling. 


—  75  — 


-  76  - 

"All  here, "said  the  Little  Wee  Pumpkin, 
with  a  sneeze.  "But  I  think  it  will  be  our 
last  night  together,  for  I  heard  Peter  say  to- 
day that  to-morrow  he  would  pull  us,  and 
send  us  on  our  journeys.  How  delightful!" 

"To  be  sure,"  said  the  Great  Big  Pump- 
kin. "I  hope  we  will  make  the  best  of  pies 
for  somebody's  Thanksgiving  dinner.  Speak- 
ing of  journeys,  though,  I  do  hope  Peter  will 
send  me  to  London  Town.  They  say  the 
sights  are  very  wonderful." 

"So  I've  heard,"  said  the  Middle  Size 
Pumpkin.  "I  should  be  glad  to  stop  at  the 
King's  palace.  Old  King  Cole  is  a  merry  old 
soul." 

"And  I,  too,"  said  the  Little  Wee  Pump- 
kin. "  I  should  like  so  much  to  see  the  Prin- 
cess Cinderella,  whom  every  one  loves.  But 
I  am  not  large  nor  fine  enough  to  go  to  the 
palace.  Most  of  all,  I  should  like  to  make 
somebody  very  happy  on  Thanksgiving 


—  77  — 

Day,  and  then,  too,  I  hope  my  seeds  will 
be  saved  and  planted  next  year.  It  is  such 
joy  to  grow." 

"Indeed    it    is!"    said    the    Great     Big 
Pumpkin. 

"And  indeed  it  is!"  said  the  Middle  Size 


"f  should  like  to  make  somebody  very  happy' 

Pumpkin.  "I  wish  Peter  could  get  all  our 
seeds.  He  takes  such  good  care  of  us,  and 
likes  so  to  see  us  grow." 

"Well,  good-night,  and  pleasant  dreams," 
said  the  Great  Big  Pumpkin;  "if  we  pump- 
kins do  not  close  our  peepers  and  go  to  sleep. 


-  78  — 

the  sunbeams  will  catch  us  napping,  a  pretty 
sight  for  a  Thanksgiving  morning." 

So  the  pumpkins  three  snuggled  beneath 
their  frosty  coats  and  went  to  sleep. 

On  Thanksgiving  morning  the  Little  Wee 
Pumpkin  was  the  first  to  wake.  She  almost 
lost  her  breath  when  Peter  opened  the  gar- 
den gate  and  the  Princess  Cinderella  herself 
tripped  in  behind  him. 

She  was  very  beautiful.  The  same  sunny 
hair  and  dainty  feet  and  smiling  face  that  you 
have  read  about.  Being  a  princess  had  not 
changed  her,  because  she  was  always  good 
and  kind.  She  held  in  her  hand  a  bunch  of 
violets,  almost  the  color  of  her  pretty  eyes, 
and  smiled  as  she  held  them  up  to  Peter,  say- 
ing, "See,  Peter,  I  have  brought  you  these 
from  the  palace  gardens;  they  are  my  Thanks- 
giving offering.  Now  you  must  help  me  find 
the  best  pumpkin  in  all  your  patch  for  a  jack- 
o'-lantern.  It  is  to  make  a  little  girl  very 


You  must  help  me  find  the  best  pumpkin  in  all  your  patch' 


—  80  — 

happy.  She  has  been  sick  a  long,  long  time 
in  the  London  hospital,  and  I  have  promised 
to  make  her  a  jack-o'-lantern  on  Thanksgiv- 
ing Day." 

"Yes,  my  lady,"  said  Peter,  bowing,  and 
they  stepped  from  vine  to  vine,  hunting  the 
best  pumpkin.  First  she  stopped  at  the 
Great  Big  Pumpkin;  but  no,  that  was  too 
large.  Then  she  stopped  at  the  Middle  Size 
Pumpkin,  but  that  was  too  fat.  And  then 
she  stopped  at  the  Little  Wee  Pumpkin,  and 
that, — and  that  was  just  right. 

Now,  the  Little  Wee  Pumpkin  was  very 
much  surprised  when  Cinderella,  stooping 
down  by  her,  said  gayly,  "You  dear  Little 
Wee  Pumpkin.  You  will  make  a  most 
beautiful  jack-o'-lantern,  and  are  the  very  one 
to  make  the  little  girl  happy  this  Thanksgiv- 
ing Day.  Come,  Peter,  I  have  chosen  this 
one,"  and  she  patted  the  Little  Wee  Pump- 
kin gently. 


—  81  — 

"Yes,  my  lady,"  said  Peter. 

So  he  carefully  tucked  the  Little  Wee 
Pumpkin  in  the  pony  phaeton  beside  Cinder- 
ella, and  away  they  whirled,  off  to  London 
Town  to  make  the  little  sick  girl  happy. 


lken  Coat 


SIMPLE  SIMON  heard  there  was  a  pot 
of  gold  at  the  end  of  the  rainbow,  and 
he  really  believed  it. 

"I'll  find  that  pot  of  gold,"  said  Simple 
Simon,  "and  buy  me  a  silken  coat." 

So  he  started  out,  and  walked  until  he 
came  to  the  Three  Wise  Men  of  Gotham. 
He  said  to  them,  "Please  tell  me  the  way  to 
the  end  of  the  rainbow;  I  wish  to  find  the  pot 
of  gold,  to  buy  me  a  silken  coat."  The  Three 
Wise  Men  said,  "Follow  the  rainbow  until 
you  come  to  the  end." 


—  83  — 

But  when  he  looked  in  the  sky  for  the 
rainbow  there  was  none  to  follow,  because  the 
day  was  clear. 

He  walked  on,  and  by  and  by  met  an  old 
owl  sitting  in  the  top  of  a  high  pine  tree. 
"Please,  Mr.  Owl,"  said  Simple  Simon,  "tell 


Who-o  !  iv/to-o  !  ' 


me  when  I  can  see  the  rainbow;  I  wish  to 
follow  it  to  its  end,  and  find  the  pot  of  gold, 
to  buy  me  a  silken  coat." 

"Who-o!  who-o!  who-o!"  said  the  owl. 

"Why,  the  rainbow,"  said  Simple  Simon. 
"When  can  I  see  the  rainbow?" 

"Oh!"  said  the  owl,  "the  rainbow.     You 


—  84  — 

can  see  that  after  a  rain,  Simple  Simon,  after 
a  rain." 

So  Simple  Simon  sat  on  a  log  to  wait  for 
a  rain. 

While  he  was  sitting  on  the  log  a  frog 
hopped  by. 

"Good-morning,  Mr.   Frog,"  said  Simple 


"A  frog  Jwpped  by" 

Simon;  "please  tell  me  when  it  will  rain.  I 
wish  to  see  the  rainbow,  and  follow  it  to  its 
end,  and  find  the  pot  of  gold,  to  buy  me  a 
silken  coat." 

The  frog  said,  "Yes,  yes,  Simple  Simon, 
yes,  indeed.  When  it  thunders  it  will  rain. 
Watch  and  see."  But  Simple  Simon  watched 
a  long  time  and  it  did  not  thunder.  So  he 


—  85  — 

walked  on  until  he  came  to  a  crow  sitting  on 
a  fence  near  a  corn  field. 

Said  he,  "Good-morning,  Mr.  Crow; 
please  tell  me  when  it  will  thunder.  I  want 
the  rain  to  fall  that  I  may  see  the  rainbow, 


1  To  be  sure'  said  the  crow ' 


and  follow  it  to  its  end,  and  find  the  pot  of 
gold,  to  buy  me  a  silken  coat." 

"To  be  sure,  Simple  Simon,"  said  the 
crow,  "to  be  sure.  It  will  thunder  when  the 
clouds  rush  together." 

Then  Simple  Simon  looked  in  the  sky, 
but  he  saw  no  clouds.  So  he  called  to  a 
buzzard  flying  by,  "Oh,  Mr.  Buzzard,  please, 


—  86  — 

Mr.  Buzzard,  tell  me  when  the  clouds  will 
rush  together.  I  want  it  to  thunder  that  the 
rain  may  fall,  that  I  may  see  the  rainbow, 
and  follow  it  to  its  end,  and  find  the  pot  of 
gold,  to  buy  me  a  silken  coat." 

"Oh,  yes,  Simple  Simon,"  said  the  buz- 
zard, "I  can  tell  you.  It  will  thunder  when 
the  lightning  flashes.  Of  that  I  am  very 
sure." 

Poor  Simple  Simon  was  beginning  to  get 
very  tired,  but  he  thought  of  the  pot  of  gold 
and  the  silken  coat,  and  walked  on. 

At  last  he  came  to  a  spider  busily  spin- 
ning  her  web.      Back   and   forth,  back   and 
J  forth   she   drew   her   silver 
thread.      Simple  Simon 
watched    her  a  long  time. 
Then  he  said  with  a  very 
low   bow,   "Good-morning, 
Mrs.  Spider;  stop  a  moment 
inning  her  web"   and  tell  me  when  the  light- 


'  Simple  Simon  watched  her  a  long  time ' 


—  88  — 

ning  will  flash.  I  want  the  clouds  to  rush 
together,  that  it  may  thunder,  that  the 
rain  may  fall,  that  I  may  see  the  rain- 
bow, and  follow  it  to  its  end,  and  find  the 
pot  of  gold,  to  make  me  a  silken  coat." 

"Tut,  tut,  tut!  Simple  Simon,"  said 
the  spider,  "tut,  tut,  tut!  There  is  no 
pot  of  gold  at  the  end  of  the  rainbow. 
Whoever  heard  tell  of  just  such?  But  if 
it  is  a  silken  coat  you  want,  why, — I'll 
spin  you  one.  Just  let  me  crawl  up  on 
your  back  and  I  will  take  your  measure." 

"Spin  away,"  said  Simple  Simon, 
laughing.  So  he  sat  on  a  stone  while 
the  spider  climbed  on  his  back  to  spin. 

She  spun  and  spun  and  spun. 

Back  and  forth,  without  a  rest, 
She  wove  her  silver  thread, 
Over  his  arms  and  back  and  chest, 
And  around  his  curly  head. 
Spinning, 

Spinning, 

Spinning. 


Oh,  dainty  spider  fairy, 
I  pray  you  weave  for  me 
A  coat  so  rich  and  airy — 
So  wonderful  to  see. 
Spinning, 

Spinning, 

Spinning. 

"Finished,  my  little  man,"  said  the  spider, 
as  she  snapped  the  silver  thread.  "Just  step 
to  the  brook  there,  and  see  how  you  like 
yourself." 

Dear  little  Simple  Simon !  he  had  never 
seen  a  coat  so  beautiful  before, —  a  soft,  rich, 
silver  gray.  "Thank  you,  Mrs.  Spider, — oh! 
thank  you  a  hundred  times,"  he  said.  "This 
is  much  better  than  the  pot  of  gold." 

He  kissed  his  hand  to  her  and  skipped 
away, —  such  a  happy,  happy  boy,  to  have  a 
silken  coat! 


MaidenMapleLeaf 


THE  Schoolmaster  came  into  the  school- 
house  with  a  smile  on  his  face. 
All  the  chairs  were  in  place  on  the  circle, 
and  the  children  were  waiting  for  him,  won- 
dering what  their  lesson  was  to  be  about, 

"See,  I  have  brought  a  little  maiden  to 
spend  the  day  with  us,"  he  said.  "  I  met  her 
this  morning  as  I  walked  along. 
She  fluttered  merrily  on  ahead 
of  me  until  we  got  to  the  school- 
house,  where  she  stopped  on  the  steps.  So, 
of  course,  I  invited  her  in.  Her  name  is 


—  90  — 


—  91  — 

Maiden  Maple  Leaf,  and  her  home 
is  on  the  brow  of  Primrose  Hill. 

"There  you  will  find  a  tree;  on 
the  tree  is  a  limb;  on  the  limb  is  a  twig,  and 
on  the  twig  this  little  maiden  lives.  /jL 

y*T"  "^A 

"Her  mother  is  very  proud  of  Iry'  her, 
and  has  dressed  her  in  the  daintiest  of  red 
scalloped  dresses,  that  she  might  visit  you. 
To  be  sure  she  has  other  dresses,  which  I 
have  sometimes  seen, — green,  yellow,  and 
spotted  ones.  But  I  am  glad  she  wore  her 
red  one  to-day,  because  we  wish  to  see  just 
how  it  is  made.  ^4 

"See  how  prettily  SF^  her  dress  stands 
out,  over  her  ribs  and  veins.  They  are  very 
much  like  ours,  though  ever  so  much  smaller. 
Let  us  count  them  if  we  can,  beginning  with 
the  long  one  down  the  center,  which  I'm  sure 
must  be  her  backbone,  to  which  are  joined  all 
the  other  ribs  and  bones.  C^T 

"I  will  tell  you  a  secret  about^^T  Maiden 


—  92  — 

Maple  Leaf's  backbone.  It  is  her  waterpipe. 
Why,  her  dress  would  dry  up  were  it  not  for 
that.  Her  mother  sends  food  and 
sap-water  all  the  way  from  her 
roots  under  the  ground,  up  her 
large  trunk,  along  the  limbs,  through  the 
twigs,  into  this  tiny  backbone,  and  then  into 
the  ribs  and  veins,  so  that  her  little  daughter 
may  have  her  breakfast  sweet  and  fresh. 

"Isn't  that  a  long  way  /\f°r  a  breakfast 
to  travel?  But  Maiden  ^Jfcr^Maple  Leaf 
drinks  it  eagerly,  and  ^  dances  and 

swings  in  the  sunshine/kk     such   a  happy, 
thankful  leaf! 

"Maybe    you    think    leaves    haven't    any 
work  to  do,  only  to  look  pretty  and  play  all 
the  day.     Dear  me,  no.     God  never  makes 
anything  just  for  that.       Now  put  on 
your  thinking  caps  and  tell  me  the 
work  you  think  they  do." 
They  give  us  shade,"  said  Curly  Locks. 


—  93  — 


y 


r 


;>i 


'They  give  us 
fans,"  said  little 
Jumping  Joan. 

"They  give  us  medicine," 
said  Tommy  Grace. 

"They  make  the  ground  rich 
that  flowers  may  grow,"  said  Mary 
Contrary. 

"And  the  leaves  give  us  food," 
said  Little  Peg;   "lettuce,  cab- 
bage, greens,  and  watercress." 

"And  they  cover  the  seeds 
in  winter,  and  keep  plants 
from    freezing,"    said 
Sally  Waters.          , 


-  94  - 

"They  can  make  good  dippers,"  said  Sim- 
ple Simon. 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  feL  the  Schoolmaster, 
"leaves  do  all  of  those,  and  many 

things  besides,  to  £^  (x^hdp  in  the  world. 
Why,  they  even  breathe  for  us,  and  keep  the 
air  fresh  and  sweet,  in  order  that  we  may  not 
get  sick. 

"Stranger  even  than  that, — this  little 
Maiden  Maple  Leaf  knows  how  to  make  the 
coal  we  burn  in  our  fires,  though  the  sun- 
beams have  to  help.  Even  then  it  takes  over 
two  hundred  years. 

"So  you  see  to  what  a  busy  class  of  work- 
ers this  scarlet  leaf  belongs.  You  wouldn't 
think,  to  see  her,  that  she  could  eat, 
drink,  work,  rest,  breathe,  and  sleep 
just  as  we  do.  And  yet  Maiden  Maple  Leaf 
does  all  of  this. 

"  But  come,  I  think  she  would  like  to  go 
back  home  now.  Put  on  your  pointed  caps 


vs 


Put  on  your  pointed  caps  and  let  us  go  for  a  walk" 


—  96  - 

and  let  us  go  for  a  walk.  We  will  look  for 
other  leaves  as  we  go,  the  most  beautiful  ones 
we  can  find.  To-morrow  we  will  draw  their 
pictures,  model  them  in  clay  to  see  their  ribs 
and  veins,  and  cut  the  pattern  of  their 
pretty  dresses,  to  color  and  press  in 
our  books.  Mother  Goose  will  be 
glad  to  see  them,  and  to  know  how  many 
kinds  we  can  find." 

And  so  they  tripped  out  of  the  little  red 
schoolhouse  as  happy  as  birds  in  May,  while 
the  Schoolmaster  followed  after,  with  Maiden 
Maple  Leaf  perched  on  the  lapel  of  his  coat. 


NancvEtticotes 


CHRISTMAS  was  coming,  and  of  all 
things  in  the  world,  little  Nancy  Etti- 
cote  wanted  a  gold  ring  in  her  stocking. 

She  was  nearly  eight  years  old  and  had 
never  had  a  ring,  though  she  had  always 
wanted  one. 

Every  Christmas  she  had  written  Santa 
Claus  a  letter,  and  put  it  up  the  broad,  black 
chimney.  But  somehow,  he  had  not  gotten 
the  letter,  because  the  ring  was  not  in  her 
stocking,  you  know. 

Humpty  Dumpty  was  the  only  one  in  the 


—  97  — 


—  98  — 

village  who  kn-ew  about  the  ring.  Indeed, 
it  was  he  who  had  helped  Nancy  Etticote 
write  the  letters  to  Santa  Claus,  and  had 
poked  them  up  the  kitchen  chimney  himself, 


"Nancy  wiped  away  the  tears" 


running  over  again  every  Christmas  morning 
to  see  if  the  ring  had  come. 

So  you  see  Humpty  Dumpty  was  almost 
as  sorry  as  Nancy  Etticote,  when  they  did 
not  find  the  ring. 


"Never  mind,"  he  had  said  the  last  time, 
"that  ring  will  come  next  Christmas,  I'm 
sure.  Just  you  watch  out  and  see." 

Then   Nancy  Etticote    had   wiped   away 


Humpty  Dumpty  went  home  whistling 

the  tears  on  the  folds  of  her  clean  white 
dress,  and  Humpty  Dumpty  had  gone  home 
whistling,  and  thinking  very  hard. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "that  gold  ring  has  got  to 


-  100  - 

come!  I'll  see  what  kind  of  a  Santa  Claus 
Humpty  Dumpty  will  make.  He  won't  be 
quite  so  busy  as  the  other  one,  nor  have  so 
many  places  to  go  to." 

Then  he  smiled  to  think  of  himself  as  a 
truly  true  Santa  Claus,  and  wondered  what 
the  old  gentleman  would  think. 

He  told  no  one  about  his  plan,  except  the 
Old  Woman  who  went  to  the  market  her 
eggs  for  to  sell, — and  his  black  hen.  Of 
course  the  black  hen  had  to  know,  because 
she  was  to  lay  the  eggs  which  the  Old  Woman 
was  to  sell  for  him  when  she  went  to  market. 
And  the  money, — well,  he  was  going  to  save 
that  in  his  tin  bank  to  buy  the  ring  with.  So 
you  see  his  plan  was  a  good  one  if  the  black 
hen  lived,  and  she  was  enjoying  very  good 
health  then.  You  should  have  seen  her  shake 
out  her  tail  feathers  when  Humpty  Dumpty 
spoke  to  her  about  it.  She  surely  understood, 
because  he  found  her  nest  the  very  next  day 


She  shook  her  tail  feathers  when  Humpty  Dumpty  spoke  to  her  about  it. 


—  102  — 

under  the  rose-bush.     And  there  was  an  egg 
in  it,  too. 

Each  day  after  that  did  she  cackle  loud 
and  long,  and  each  day  did  Humpty  Dumpty 
find  a  new,  fresh  egg,  which  was  placed  in 
the  market  basket  until  the  Old  Woman 
called  for  them. 


"Eack  day  did  she  cackle  loud  and  long" 

She  went  to  market  every  Saturday  to 
sell  her  own  eggs,  and  it  was  a  real  pleasure 
for  her  to  carry  Humpty  Dumpty's,  too. 

By  the  end  of  the  year  he  had  three  dollars 
in  the  tin  bank,  and  he  and  the  Old  Woman 
went  to  London  Town  together  to  buy  the 
ring. 

He  was  very   happy,  so   happy   that   he 


—  103  — 

hopped  and  skipped  the  whole  way  back. 
And,  what  do  you  think !  There  was  a  pretty 
ring  in  his  jacket  pocket,  all  gold  with  a  ruby 
set  in  it. 

Well,  that  Christmas  he  and  Nancy  Etti- 
cote  again  wrote  the  letter  to  Santa  Glaus, 
and  poked  it  up  the  chimney  as  before. 

"Now,"  said  Humpty  Dumpty,  "I  guess 
that  will  reach  the  old  fellow."  And  his 
merry  blue  eyes  danced  with  joy.  You  see, 
he  knew  the  ring  would  be  in  the  stocking 
anyway.  That's  what  tickled  him. 

On  Christmas-eve  night  Nancy  Etticote 
hung  her  stocking  near  the  fireplace  and  went 
to  bed  with  a  beating  heart.  She  was  so 
afraid  the  ring  would  not  come. 

She  slept  and  slept,  and  the  next  thing 
she  knew, — why,  it  was  broad  daylight,  and 
there  hung  her  stocking  filled  to  the  brim. 
She  quickly  pulled  out  each  thing, — a  book,  a 
doll,  a  pair  of  mitts,  some  candy,  firecrackers, 


—  104  - 

nuts,  an  orange,  an  apple,  and, — yes,  away 
down  in  the  very  toe  was  a  queer  little  pack- 
age. How  her  heart  did  beat!  It  was  tied 
with  a  very  hard  knot,  but  she  worked  and 
worked  till  it  came  untied.  Then  she  un- 
rolled and  unrolled  tissue  paper,  and  came  to 
another  hard  knot.  "Well,"  said  Nancy 
Etticote,  "did  you  ever?"  When  that  string 
was  untied,  and  more  tissue  paper  unrolled, 
there  was  a  wee,  tiny  box.  And  when  she 
opened  the  box, — you  know  what?  There 
was  the  ruby  ring! 

"Oh!  oh!  oh!"  said  little  Nancy  Etticote, 
as  she  slipped  the  ring  on  her  finger. 

And  Humpty  Dumpty?     He  was  the 
happiest  boy  in  all  the  village  that 
Christmas  morning. 

I   wonder  can   you  guess   the 
reason  why? 


Christmas  Tree 


ONCE  upon  a  time  Bo-Peep  and  Boy 
Blue  had  a  secret.  They  did  not  tell 
anyone  but  Mother  Goose,  and  she  promised 
never  to  tell  a  soul  until  Christmas,  and  that 
was  many  months  off. 

Bo-Peep  and  Boy  Blue  both  kept  sheep. 
Sometimes  Boy  Blue  looked  after  the  cows, 
too,  but  Bo-Peep  didn't,  because  she  was  a 
girl,  and  girls  don't  like  cows, —  much. 

Well,  their  secret  was  about  sheep's  wool 
and  a  Christmas  tree  for  the  Old  Woman 
who  Lived  in  the  Shoe.  I  suppose  I  might 


— 105  — 


—  106  — 

as  well  tell  you,  if  you  will  promise  never  to 
tell.  But  I  wouldn't  have  the  Old  Woman 
find  out, —  not  for  anything.  That  would 
spoil  the  surprise. 

Bo-Peep  and  Boy  Blue  had  talked  it  all 
over  at  the  meadow  bars.  They  said  they 
would  clip  the  wool  from  their  sheep  that 
spring,  and  use  it  all  to  be  made  into  clothes 
for  the  Old  Woman's  children.  Of  course, 
the  wool  would  have  to  be  sent  in  bags  to  the 
factory  in  London  Town.  Mother  Goose 
herself  had  promised  to  take  it,  and  have  it 
woven  into  the  prettiest  of  cloth,  part  blue 
and  part  yellow.  Then  she  was  to  take  it  to 
old  Mother  Twitchett,  to  make  into  clothes. 

Now  old  Mother  Twitchett  had  but  one 
eye,  but  dear  me,  how  she  could  sew!  She 
makes  clothes  for  everybody  in  the  world 
and  never  gets  tired. 

So  she  told  Mother  Goose  she  would 
make  jackets  and  skirts  and  blouses  and 


'Bo-Peep  and  Boy  Blue  had  talked  it  all  over  at  the  meadow  bars  " 


-  108  - 

trousers  and  dresses  and  sacks  and  caps  and 
cloaks  and  roundabouts,  and  be  only  too  glad 
to  do  it. 

Well,  the  secret  turned  out  beautifully— 


Dressed  in  her  new  clothes 


from  the  day  the  sheep  were  led  into  the 
clear  meadow  brook  to  have  their  thick  wool 
washed  and  sheared,  to  the  day  when  old 
Mother  Twitchett  sent  the  clothes  to  Bo- 


—  109  — 

Peep's  house,  all  ready  for  the  Old  Woman's 
children  to  wear.  Nothing  had  been  for- 
gotten, even  to  mitts  and  socks. 

Then  came  the  fun  for  Bo-Peep  and  Boy 
Blue. 

Everything  had  to  be  wrapped  in  bundles, 
numbered  and  tied  to  the  branches  of  the 
Christmas  tree.  The  Old  Woman  had  never 
named  her  children.  She  had  so  many  she 
said  it  was  easier  just  to  number  them.  So 
there  were  Number  One, 
Number  Two,  Number 
Three,  Number  Four,  and 
so  on,  until  you  got  away 
up  almost  to  one  hundred. 

It  took  busy  fingers  to 
get  the  tree  ready.  When 
it  was  finished  there  wasn't 
room  anywhere  to  hang 
even  a  chestnut,  —  bundles, 
bundles  everywhere. 


undies 


—  110  - 

On  Christmas-eve  night,  while  everyone 
slept,  Mother  Goose  had  the  tree  carefully 
moved  to  the  Old  Woman's  house,  and 
propped  against  the  heel  of  the  shoe.  There 


1 Pretty  is  as  pretty  does" 


it  was  found  early  the  next  morning.  And 
such  a  jubilee!  Soon  the  news  spread 
all  over  the  shoe,  and  the  children  rushed 
out. 


—  Ill  — 

They  caught  hands  and  danced  round  the 
tree,  singing: 

"Hey  diddle  de  diddle,  come  and  see 
This  beautiful,  beautiful  Christmas  tree. 
Some  one  brought  it  to  us  last  night 
And  ran  away  before  it  was  light ; 
Hey  diddle  de  diddle,  happy  are  we, 
You  beautiful,  beautiful  Christmas  tree." 

That  day  the  Old  Woman  dressed  all  her 
children  up  in  their  new  clothes.  They 
looked  so  sweet  and  pretty  she  kissed  them 
all  round  and  sent  them  out  for  a  walk.  But 
she  shook  her  finger  and  smiled  lovingly  at 
them  as  she  said,  "Remember,  dears,  pretty 
is  as  pretty  does." 


y 

Marx  Contrary's  Doll  Bed 


YOU  did  not  know  Mary  Contrary 
planted  dolls  in  her  garden,  did  you? 

When  I  read  of  the  pretty  maids  all  in  a 
row  I  thought  so,  but  of  course  I  really  did 
not  know  until  I  saw  the  dolls, — growing. 

Mary  Contrary  said  some  one  had  to  make 
dolls  for  the  children  who  lived  in  the  shoe. 
The  Old  Woman  said  she  couldn't,  because 
she  had  so  much  to  do — she  had  no  time  to 
waste  on  dolls.  And  I  guess  she  was  right. 

That  was  the  reason  Mary  Contrary 
wanted  to  plant  dolls  in  her  garden. 


—  113  — 

To  be  sure  they  were  only  gourds,  with 
prettily  rounded  heads.  But  when  their  faces 
were  painted  and  they  were  dressed  in  their 
long  white  dresses,  you  couldn't  tell  them 


Painted  faces  and  long  white  dresses 

from  truly  true  doll  babies.  And  the  Old 
Woman's  children  thought  they  were  the 
most  beautiful  doll  babies  any  child  ever  had. 
The  dolls  got  ripe  in  August.  It  was 
great  fun  to  gather  and  dress  them,  and 


-  114  — 

Mary  Contrary  always  gave  a  big  sewing 
party  at  that  time,  which  lasted  until  all  the 
dolls  were  dressed. 

Most  every  child  in  the  village  who  knew 
how  to  sew  was  invited,  and  even  the  boys 
were  always  glad  to  come.  They  could  help 
gather  the  dolls,  thread  needles,  and  wait  on 
the  girls  in  many  other  ways.  It  was  great 
fun  for  them  to  take  the  market  baskets  and 
go  into  the  garden  with  Mary  Contrary,  doll- 
gathering.  They  would  go  from  one  end  of 
the  bed  to  the  other,  hunting  the  gourds 
which  would  make  the  prettiest  dolls,  long 
ones  and  short  ones,  fat  ones  and  lean  ones. 
All  were  pulled  and  carried  in  glee  to  the 
large  back  porch,  where  the  girls  were  wait- 
ing to  dress  them. 

The  heads  were  first  covered  with  white 
cloth  and  their  faces  painted.  Straight 
noses,  pink  cheeks,  and  rosebud  mouths,  with 
eyes  of  blue  and  gray  and  brown.  The  hair 


'/«  the  garden  with  Mary  Contrary,  doll-gathering* 


—  116  — 

was  made  of  curly  rings  of  sheep's  wool, 
which  looked  very  cunning,  peeping  beneath 
the  rim  of  the  caps. 

When  the  heads  were  all  finished  it  was 
time  to  cut  and  sew  the  dresses,  and  those 
were  happy  days  on  the  vine-clad  porch. 
Laughter  and  sunshine  mingled  with  the 
song  of  the  needle,  as  busy  fingers 
plied  the  thread. 

Mother  Goose  gave  the  cloth 
to  make  the  white  dresses,  and  she 
often  came  to  see  how  the  little 
dressmakers  were  getting  on  with 
their  work.  She  showed  them 
how  to  make  a  pretty  pointed  cap, 
called  the  Mother  Goose  cap. 
They  were  so  quaint,  many  of  the 
children  in  London  Town  wore 
them,  and  even  to-day  they  are 
seen  on  the  heads  of  well-dressed 

1*11 

children. 


"Straight  noses, 

cheeks- 


—  117  — 

As  soon  as  a  doll  was  dressed  and  her 
cap  tied  on  she  was  placed  in  the  row  against 
the  banister  railing.  By  and  by  this  row 
reached  from  one  end  of  the  long  porch  to 
the  other,  and  a  neater,  sweeter  row  of  dolls 
I'm  sure  you  never  saw. 

"Even  old  Santa  Claus  could  not  have 
done  better,"  said  Mother  Goose,  as  she  held 
her  head  on  one  side  and  smilingly  looked 
down  the  row. 

t  "You  have  done  very  well,  my  dears,  very 
well,  indeed,"  she  said,  "and  I  am  sure  the 
Old  Woman's  children  will  be  quite  happy 
to  get  these  charming  babies." 

And  they  were,  too.  When  finished,  all 
the  dolls  were  packed  neatly  in  a  large  clothes 
basket,  and  placed  one  night  on  the  doorstep 
of  the  Old  Woman's  house.  Early  the  next 
morning  they  were  found,  and  you  should 
have  seen  those  children  dance  around  that 
basket  and  say,  "Oh,  oh,  oh!" 


—  118  — 

They  were  always  good  when  they  had 
dolls  to  play  with,  bless  their  little  hearts! 

It  was  too  cute  to  see  them  hug  those 
gourd  babies,  calling  them  '"darling,"  and 
"sweet,"  and  "pet, "and  "mother's  dear  one." 

Many  were  the  happy  days  they  played 
beneath  the  trees  that  old  game  "Lady  come 
to  see  you,"  holding  the  cherished  gourd 
baby  up  for  a  kiss  of  welcome. 

At  night  the  babies  were  put  to  bed  with 
the  greatest  of  care  and  rocked  to  sleep. to 
the  softest  strains  of- 

' '  Bye  baby  bunting, 
Daddy's  gone  a-hunting, 
To  get  a  little  rabbit  skin, 
To  wrap  his  baby  up  in." 


EPTLE  PEG  was  the  miller's  daughter. 
She  was  a  cripple,  you  know,  and  had 
only  one  leg.  But  she  was  happy  for  all  that. 
"Because,  even  if  I  have  not  two  legs,"  said 
Little  Peg,  "I  have  two  eyes,  two  ears,  and 
two  hands.  That  is  much  to  be  thankful 
for." 

Late  one  summer  day  she  was  lying  on 
the  grass  looking  at  her  picture  book.  Not 
a  truly  true  picture  book  like  yours  and  mine, 
— oh,  no, —  but  one  much  more  beautiful. 

Peg's  picture  book  was<the  clouds;  it  had 


—  120  — 

no  end  to  it  like  yours  and  mine,  but  it  was 
full  of  new  pictures  and  new  stories  every 
day.  Such  a  beautiful,  wonderful  book! 

Sometimes  she  would  see  a  picture  that 
looked  like  the  king's  palace,  with  great  mar- 
ble pillars  and  arches  and  steps.  Sometimes 
she  would  see  lions  and  tigers  and  elephants, 


"King  Sun  " 

or  graceful  white  swans  swimming  on  lakes 
of  blue.  Often  she  would  try  to  look  at 
King  Sun  himself  as  he  smiled  warmly 
upon  her. 

Sometimes  there  would  be  woolly  sheep 
and  wee,  fluffy  lambs;  and  again,  galloping 
gray  ponies  or  stately  ships  with  golden  masts 
and  puffy  silver  sails. 


—  121  — 

Then  there  would  sometimes  be  cloud 
ladies;  and  children,  boys  and  girls  with 
merry,  laughing  faces.  They  seemed  always 
beckoning  to  Little  Peg  to  come  and  play 
with  them  in  cloudland. 

"Oh,  if  I  only  could!"  she  said,  and  then, 
— guess  what  ?  She  fell  asleep  in  the  grass. 

While  she  lay  there  sleeping  the  Old 
Woman  who  swept  cobwebs  from  the  sky 
passed  by. 

"Deary  me,"  she  said,  "the  day  has  been 
too  long  for  Little  Peg.  I  believe  I  will  take 
her  to  ride  with  me  while  I  brush  the  cob- 
webs from  the  sky." 

So  she  tucked  her  down  into  the  basket, 
with  only  the  top  of  her  curly  head  peeping 
out;  then  up,  up,  up  she  sailed, —  straight  to 
cloudland. 

Peg  could  hardly  believe  it  when  she 
opened  her  eyes  and  found  herself  among  the 

clouds, 
a 


-  122  - 

The  Old  Woman  smiled  and  said,  "How 
do  you  like  it,  my  dear?" 

"Very,  very  much,"  replied  Little  Peg. 
"How  did  you  know  I  wanted  to  come?" 

"Perhaps  a  bird  or  a  fairy  told  me.  We 
are  passing  through  fairyland  now,  so  listen, 
and  I  will  tell  you  where  they  all  live. 


Queen  J\foon 

"That  beautiful  palace  over  there  belongs 
to  my  lady,  the  moon.  She  is  the  queen  of 
the  heavens,  and  the  sun  is  king.  With  them 
dwell  all  the  light  fairies  of  both  day  and 
night.  They  are  a  busy  set,  I  can  tell  you, 
—  these  moonbeams  and  sunbeams  which 
carry  light  to  the  earth.  The  large  gray 


'  How  do  you  like  it,  my  dear?' 


—  124  — 

palace  with  fluted  columns  is  the  home  of  the 
water  fairies,  another  busy  set.  There  dwell 
the  snowflakes,  the  rain,  the  mist,  and  the  dew. 

"They  always  dress  in  white  or  gray 
And  keep  the  flowers  fresh  and  gay, 
They  wash  the  faces  of  trees  and  grass 
And  throw  a  kiss  to  all  they  pass. 

"Sometimes  they  join  their  hands  in  a  row 
And  down  to  the  earth  with  sunbeams  go, 
They  form  a  rainbow  gay  and  bright 
And  dance  and  sing  with  glad  delight." 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Little  Peg,  "I  have  seen 
these  fairies  many  times,  though  I  did  not 
know  they  lived  in  such  a  beautiful  home. 
The  stars,  too,  I  have  learned  to  love,  watch- 
ing them  play  hide-and-seek  with  the  clouds. 
I  have  seen  them  march  and  form  pretty 
figures  like  the  Great  Bear,  Jacob's  Ladder, 
and  the  Sparkling  Dipper.  And  best  of  all, 
I  have  seen  them  run  a  race, —  pellmell  down 
the  Milky -Way  Stream." 

"Yes,  indeed,"  laughed  the  Old  Woman, 


—  125  — 

"the  star  fairies  are  a  merry  troop.  They  are 
the  moon's  children,  you  know,  and  she  has 
named  them  all,  though,  dear  me,  I  cannot 
see  how  she  ever  keeps  up  with  them.  Why, 
she  is  even  worse  than  the  Old  Woman  who 
Lives  in  the  Shoe. 

"But  come,  I  have  finished  my  sweeping, 
and  Mother  Goose  will  wonder  what  has 
become  of  me.  Shut  your  eyes  and  count 
five,  then  open  them  wide  and  you  will  find 
yourself  in  the  grass  where  I  found  you." 

And  so  she  did. 


Are-Cream  Kcp/ 


THERE  was  quite  a  stir  in  the  Old 
Woman's  shoe  one  morning. 

The  children  were  swarming  around  like 
so  many  bees,  and  you  couldn't  tell  Number 
Six  from  Number  Twenty, —  they  were  so 
mixed  up.  And  the  noise,—  My! 

You  see  when  they  got  up  that  morning, 
the  youngest  girl  had  found  a  big  square  let- 
ter under  the  door.  It  was  addressed  to  the 
Old  Woman's  children  who  lived  in  the  shoe. 

Now  the  Old  Woman  did  not  often  get 
a  letter,  and  the  children  almost  never.  So 


— 126  — 


—  127  — 

that  was  the  cause  of  the  hubbub.  All  of 
them  wanted  to  open  it. 

"Come,  come,"  she  said,  "this  will  never 
do.  You  almost  drive  me  crazy.  Number 
Seven,  bring  me  that  letter.  It  is  I  who 
shall  have  the  honor  of  opening  it.  Atten- 
tion, while  I  read." 

You  could  have  heard  a  pin  drop.  The 
Old  Woman  smoothed  her  cap  and  apron, 
settled  her  specs  over  her  nose,  and  read: — 

"All  you  children  who  live  in  the  shoe 

Are  invited,  this  afternoon  at  two, 

For  an  ice-cream  picnic  on  Primrose  Hill, 

Where  you  can  play  and  eat  your  fill. 

When  the  sun  has  set,  you  may  all  come  back. 

I  am  yours  very  truly,  Mother  Goose's  Jack." 

"A  very  kind  letter,  indeed,"  she  said. 
"You  have  never  tasted  ice-cream  at  all,  so  I 
am  sure  it  will  be  a  treat.  But  remember," 
— and  she  held  up  her  finger  with  a  warning 
gesture, — "not  one  spot  of  dirt  goes  to  that 
picnic  with  you.  So  you  had  better  scrub 


-  128  - 

"Soap  is  cheap  and  water  is  free,  and  the 
creek  still  runs  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Now 
go  clown  there  and  scrub,  every  boy  and  girl, 
and  when  you  have  finished,  come  back  to 


11  Cheeks  glowed  with  the  rubbing''1 

me,  and  I  will  have  clean,  fresh  pinafores 
waiting  for  you." 

The  children  were  so  happy  they  tumbled 
all  over  one  another  down  the  hill. 

Soon   there   was   such   another   splashing 


-  129  — 

and  scrubbing  of  feet,  hands,  and  faces  as 
you  never  saw.  Cheeks  just  glowed  with 
the  rubbing.  Then  they  sat  on  the  rocks  to 
dry  in  the  sun,  and  brushed  out  their  rumpled 


"Another  trip  to  wash  their  ears  " 

hair   with    pine   cones, — very   good   brushes 
indeed,  when  you  haven't  any  better. 

After  all  had  finished,  they  went  back, 
full  of  glee,  to  the  house,  where  the  Old 
Woman  looked  at  them  closely,  to  see  if  she 
could  find  any  dirty  spots. 


—  130  — 

Her  eyes  were  very  sharp,  and  some  of  the 
boys  took  another  trip  to  the  river  to  wash 
their  ears.  But  by  and  by  all  were  as  clean 
as  water  could  make  them,  and  the  girls 
put  on  fresh  print  aprons,  and  the  boys  stiff 
snow-white  collars  and  clean  blouses. 

They  looked  as  fresh  and  sweet  as  a  May 
morning,  and  the  Old  Woman  was  very  proud 
of  them.  She  watched  them  off,  standing  in  the 
doorway,  shading  her  face  with  her  hand,  and 
smiling  a  good-by.  It  was  two  o'clock  sharp 
when  the  children  reached  the  top  of  the  hill. 

Mother  Goose  and  Jack  were  there  to 
meet  them,  and  soon  the  fun  began.  There 
were  swings  and  joggling  boards  enough  for 
all.  So  they  swung  and  joggled,  and  joggled 
and  swung.  Then  they  played  "Jacob"  and 
"  Drop  the  handkerchief"  until  Mother  Goose 
called  them  to  the  picnic  table. 

This  table  was  only  a  very,  very  large 
round  tablecloth,  cut  by  the  pattern  of  the 


"  There  were  swings  and  joggling  boards  for  all 


—  132  — 

full  moon.      It  was  spread  out  on  the  grass, 
and  everybody  had  a  seat  around  it. 

The  children's  eyes  grew  wide  as  Jack 
placed  before  each  child  a  candy  basket  filled 
with  ice-cream  and  a  candy  boat  full  of  cakes. 
They  had  never  seen  such  a  sight  before,  and 
they  clapped  their  hands  with  joy. 

They  ate  the  cream  and  cakes,  but  saved 
the  candy  baskets  and  boats  to  carry  home 
and  eat  some  other  day. 

Just  as  the  sun  went  down  they  said  good- 
by,  and  kissing  their  hands  to  Jack  and  Mother 
Goose,  trotted  down  the  hill  to  their  home  in 
the  shoe,  as  happy  as  happy  could  be. 


)          The  Sleeping  Princess 


IN  a  queer  brown  house,  without  windows 
or  doors,  a  beautiful  princess  lay  fast 
asleep. 

She  had  slept  and  slept  and  slept,  until 
the  fairy  servants  who  cared  for  her  thought 
she  would  never  wake. 

Though  the  brown  house  was  in  Mary 
Contrary's  garden,  she  did  not  know  the 
princess  slept  there.  The  birds  knew,  but 
did  not  tell;  they  only  sang  to  her  every  day. 
The  sunbeams  knew;  they  warmed  her  couch 
for  her.  The  raindrops  knew;  they  carried 


— 133  — 


—  134  — 

her  cool,  fresh  water.  And  a  little  worm 
knew;  he  helped  to  make  her  bed  soft.  But 
they  did  not  tell,  and  so  the  little  princess 
slept  on. 

One  morning  she  stirred.  The  breezes 
told  the  birds,  and  the  birds  told  the  sun- 
beams. 

"Come!"  said  a  wee  sunbeam  fairy,  "let 
us  peep  at  her." 

"Yes,"  said  another,  "and  let  us  carry  her 
something  beautiful.  What  shall  it  be?" 

"Why,  a  dress;  let  it  be  a  beautiful  dress 
from  the  Rainbow  Palace,"  said  all  the  sun- 
beam fairies. 

"What  color  shall  we  have  it?" 

"Purple,  a  rich,  velvety  purple  for  a  prin- 
cess," said  one. 

"And  a  rich,  golden  border,"  said  another. 

"Yes,  gold  and  royal  purple  will  indeed 
be  beautiful.  Let  us  carry  it  to  her  at  once." 

So  the  sunbeam  fairies  caught  hands  and, 


—  135  — 


forming  a  sunbeam  fairy  chain,  came  dancing 

to  the  brown  house  where  the  princess  slept. 

They  slipped  in  and  dressed  her  in  the 

queenly  robe,  and  then  crept  away  with  their 


'A  sunbeam  fairy  chain 


fingers  on  their  lips.     They  did  not  wish  to 
waken  the  sleeping  princess. 

Early,  oh,  so  early,  one  morning,  when  the 
dew  fairies  were  bathing  the  faces  of  ferns 
and  flowers,  the  princess  opened  her  eyes. 


-  136  — 

She  had  heard  a  voice,  strong  and  tender, 
calling  her.  A  voice  that  said  so  plainly, 
''You  have  slept  long  enough,  my  pansy;  open 
your  eyes  and  make  bright  the  world  around 
you." 

And  now  she  had  pushed  herself  free  from 
the  brown  house  where  she  slept,  and  stood 
wide  awake.  It  was  all  very  beautiful — the 
blue  sky,  the  dancing  sunbeams,  the  cooling 
breezes,  and  the  singing  birds, —  and  she 
wondered  why  she  had  not  wakened  before. 
Then  she  looked  down  at  her  own  royal 
robe,  and  wondered  at  its  richness. 

Where  did  it  come  from  ?  Who  had 
brought  it  ? 

The  sunbeams  did  not  tell,  for  they  only 
smiled.  The  breezes  did  not  tell,  for  they 
only  danced.  The  little  worm  did  not  tell, 
for  he  only  peeped.  And  the  birds  did  not 
tell,  for  they  only  sang,  "Make  bright  the 
world  !  Make  bright  the  world  !" 


enough,  my  pansy  ;  open  your  eyes" 


-  138  — 

The  pansy  princess  nodded  her  dainty 
head,  and  smiled  on  the  flowers  around  her. 

Did  Mary  Contrary  ever  find  the  pansy 
princess?  Yes,  indeed.  No  flower  bloomed 
in  the  old  garden  which  she  did  not  find. 

She  knelt  on  the  border  of  stones  beside 
the  flower  and  said,  "You  lovely,  lovely 
pansy!  Where  did  you  come  from  anyway, 
and  where  did  you  get  your  dress  so  gay?" 


The  Old 

Basket- 


WHAT  do  you  think?  The  Old  Woman 
who  Lived  in  the  Shoe  got  a  pair 
of  new  babies.  Yes,  two  of  them.  And  bless 
you,  they  came  to  stay.  That,  to  other  peo- 
ple, was  the  funniest  part  of  it.  The  Old 
Woman  did  not  think  it  was  very  funny,  just 
at  first.  They  came  in  a  basket  on  New 
Year's  night,  and  it  happened  this  way: 

Everybody  in  the  village  had  been  paying 
New  Year  calls  all  day  long,  and  saying  at 
each  quaint  red  house,  "I  wish  you  a  happy 
New  Year."  They  had  all  gotten  home,  put 


— 139  — 


—  140  — 

away  their  Sunday  clothes  and  gone  to  bed, 
all  except  the  Old  Woman.  She  was  sitting 
up  before  her  fire  nodding  and  resting,  for  she 
had  just  put  all  her  children  to  bed,  washed 
their  faces  and  combed  their  heads,  and  was 
very,  very  tired.  So  she  sat  down  to  rest  a  bit. 

Well,  while  she  was  sitting  there  nodding 
and  nodding,  a  gentle  tap  came  at  the  door. 

The  Old  Woman  thought  it  was  the  wind, 
and  did  not  stir.  Then  all  at  once  she  heard 
something  cry,  first  a  tiny,  tiny  cry,  then  a 
louder  one.  It  sounded  as  though  it  came 
from  under  the  bed.  But  when  she  looked 
under  there, —  why!  there  wasn't  anything. 

Then  she  looked  in  the  cupboard,  and 
behind  the  trunk,  and  in  the  press,  and  there 
wasn't  anything.  Then  she  counted  all  her 
children's  noses,  and  none  were  missing.  So 
she  went  back  to  the  fireplace  and  took  her 
seat  again.  But  the  Old  Woman  didn't  sit 
there  long. 


—  141  — 

She  was  just  nodding  off  nicely  when 
something  went — rap,  rap,  rap,  right  against 
her  door.  It  was  such  a  sudden  knock  the 
Old  Woman  jumped  three  feet  high, —  so  it 
seemed  to  her.  Then  she  straightened  her 
cap  and  spectacles  and  said,  "Well,  I  do 
wonder!  Now  who  can  be  paying  me  a 
New  Year's  call  this  time  of  night?  I'll  just 
go  and  see." 

So  she  lit  the  candle,  long  and  slim,  that 
Nancy  Etticote  had  sent  her  for  a  Christmas 
present,  and  went  to  the  door. 

When  she  opened  it,  only  the  snowflakes 
drifted  in,  but  right  at  her  feet  near  the  door- 
way was  a  great  big  basket.  But  she  did  not 
hear  a  sound. 

On  the  basket  was  a  card  tied  with  white 
satin  ribbon,  and  in  great  big  letters  she  read, 
-FOR  YOU!" 

"To  be  sure,"  said  the  Old  Woman,  smil- 
ing, "something  good  to  eat.  These  dear 


-  142  - 

village  people  are  always  sending  me  some- 
thing,—  bless  them.  I  will  drag  it  in  to  the 
fire  and  have  a  quiet  snack  while  the  children 
sleep." 

So  she  drew  the  New  Year  basket  to  the 
fireplace  and,  sitting  down  to  enjoy  herself, 
took  the  cover  off,  and, —  I  wish  you  could 
have  seen  her  face.  It  was  a  sight  to  behold. 

" Saints  above!"  she  cried,  throwing  both 
hands  above  her  head.  "Another  pair  of 
babies,  so  sure  as  I  live.  Whoever  heard 
tell  of  just  such?  Why,  I've  got  so  many 
now  I  don't  know  what  to  do.  Surely  I  must 
be  dreaming!" 

But  she  was  not.  No,  indeed.  For  just 
then  both  fat  babies  opened  their  eyes,  smiled 
the  cutest  little  three-cornered  smiles,  and 
stretched  out  their  dainty  pink  hands  to  the 
Old  Woman. 

"Bless  your  angel  hearts,"  she  said,  "how 
can  I  help  but  love  you  now?  You  are  the 


"Stretched  out  their  dainty  pink  hands  to  the  Old  Woman1 


—  144  - 

dearest  New  Year  callers  I  have  had  this 
day.  Where  did  you  come  from,  anyway?" 

But  dear  me,  the  babies  did  not  know. 
They  only  blinked  and  blinked,  cooed  as 
birdies  coo,  and  blinked  and  blinked. 

So  the  Old  Woman   kept  them   for  her 


'Crowded  round  the  basket^ 


very  own.  Two  more  babies  did  not  make 
much  difference  with  her,  you  know.  She 
cuddled  them  both  in  her  brave,  strong  arms, 
and  rocked  them  gently  to  and  fro  until  both 
babies  fell  asleep  listening  to  her  pretty  song. 
The  next  morning,  when  all  the  children 
waked,  you  never  heard  such  a  hubbub,  as 


—  145  — 

they  crowded  round  the  basket,  and  peeped 
at  the   two   new  babies.     You    would    have 
thought  they  never  had  seen  a  baby  before. 
"Oh-o-o!"  they  said,  "only  see! 

"What  cute  little  eyes  and  fingers  and  nose, 
What  dear  dimpled  hands,  what  cunning  pink  toes, 
What  soft,  pretty  hair  in  rings  of  dark  brown, 
What  darlings  you  are, — the  dearest  in  town!" 

So  that  is  how  the  Old  Woman  got  her 
two  new  babies.  I  know  you  wish  you  had 
them.  But  I  will  tell  you  now,  the  Old 
Woman  wouldn't  part  with  them, —  not  for 
anything.  At  least  that  is  what  she  told 
Mother  Goose. 


ETTLE  BOY  BLUE  was  very  anxious 
to  send  Little  Miss  Muffet  a  valentine. 
Because  of  all  the  children  in  Mother  Goose 
Village,  he  loved  her  the  best.  But  dear  me! 
Valentines  cost  money,  you  know,  and  Boy 
Blue  had  none. 

What  time  he  was  not  asleep  under  the 
haystack,  why! — he  was  blowing  his  horn  or 
watching  the  cows  and  sheep.  And  there 
seemed  to  be  no  way  for  him  to  earn  any 
money. 

So  he  told  Mother  Goose  about  it.     She 


—  147  — 

was  the  dearest  old  lady  in  all  the  world,  and 
everybody  loved  her  and  went  to  her  when 
in  trouble. 

Indeed,  she  promised  to  tend   the  cows 


"  Off  he  started" 


and  sheep  while  Boy  Blue  went  through  the 
village  hunting  jobs  to  do. 

So  off  he  started  as  fast  as  his  fat  little 
legs  could  carry  him,  thinking  about  Little 
Miss  Muffet  and  how  much  he  loved  her. 


-  148  - 

And  he  found  plenty  of  work  to  do,  too. 

First  he  went  to  the  Old  Woman  who 
Lived  in  the  Shoe,  and  got  there  just  in  time 
to  keep  the  youngest  boy  from  falling  over 
the  heel  of  the  shoe, —  a  most  dreadful  fall 
it  would  have  been. 

Next  he  visited  the  Old  Woman  who 
brushed  cobwebs  from  the  sky.  Then  he  ran 
round  to  the  Crooked  Man's  house  and  to 
Peter  Piper's,  where  he  helped  to  pick  a  peck 
of  peppers. 

After  that  he  hurried  on  to  Jack  Sprat's, 
to  Simple  Simon's,  to  Jack-be- Nimble's,  to 
Tommy  Tucker's,  to  Tommy  Grace's,  to  Jack 
Horner's,  to  Humpty  Dumpty's,  to  Jack  and 
Jill's,  to  Mary  Contrary's,  to  Margery  Daw's, 
and  even  to  Old  Mother  Hubbard's  in  search 
of  work. 

And  every  one  of  them,  except  Mother 
Hubbard,  gave  him  a  job  to  do. 

So  by  and  by  dear  Little  Boy  Blue  had 


—  149  — 

fifteen  pennies  snug  within  his  blue  jacket 
pocket  to  buy  a  valentine  for  Little  Miss 
Muffet,  because  he  loved  her  so. 

He  stood  for  a  long  time  before  the  big 
shop  window,  wondering  which  was  the  most 
beautiful  valentine,  and  which  one  Little  Miss 
Muffet  would  like  the  best. 

While  he  was  wondering  and  wondering, 
Tom,  Tom,  the  Piper's  Son,  came  hurrying 
down  the  street  with  something  under  his 
arm.  Guess  what? 

Dear  no!  It  wasn't  a  pig.  Though  I 
have  heard  something  about  Tom  and  a  pig. 
Why,  it  was  the  softest,  dearest  gray  kitten 
that  ever  you  saw.  With  four  white  mittens, 
too;  and  yet,  what  do  you  think?  Tom  was 
really  on  his  way  to  the  pond  to  drown  that 
kitten.  He  told  Boy  Blue  so. 

My!  Boy  Blue  thought  that  would  be  a 
most  dreadful  act.  So  he  offered  all  the 
pennies  he  had  to  Tom  for  the  gray  kitten, 


"Tom  was  on  his  way  to  drown  that 


—  151  — 

and  holding  her  close  under  his  dimpled  chin 
hurried  back  to  good  Mother  Goose  and  told 
her  all  about  it. 

There  was  a  great  round  tear  on  his  cheek 
when  he  said,  "And  now  I  haven't  any  val- 
entine for  Little  Miss  Muffet." 

Mother  Goose  thought  for  a  minute,  then 
she  looked  at  Boy  Blue  and  smiled  as  she 
said,  "Why  not  send  the  gray  kitten  to  Little 
Miss  Muffet  for  a  valentine?  I'm  sure  she 
\vould  like  it.  You  see,  I'll  write  a  piece  of 
poetry  and  tie  it  around  her  neck  with  a 
yellow  ribbon.  And  then  you  can  carry  it 
to  her  yourself  to-morrow  morning.  Isn't 
that  a  fine  plan  ?" 

Boy  Blue  clapped  his  hands  with  glee. 
He  thought  that  a  very  fine  plan  indeed. 

So  Mother  Goose  found  a  most  beautiful 
piece  of  yellow  ribbon  and  tied  it  around  the 
gray  kitten's  neck  with  the  card,  on  which 
was  written  these  words : 


—  152  — 

"  Hey  diddle  de  diddle,  a  valentine  kitty, 
And  that  is  what  Boy  Blue  bought ; 
Hey  diddle  de  diddle,  a  valentine  kitty, 
With  love  to  Miss  Muffet,  he  brought." 

How  did  Little  Miss  Muffet  like  the  val- 
entine? 

Why,  she  thought  it  was  the  loveliest  thing 
in  the  world.  Indeed,  she  sent  it  to  London 
to  visit  the  queen.  You  have  heard  about 
how,  while  there,  this  very  kitty  frightened  a 
mouse  from  under  the  queen's  chair. 

To  be  sure  you  have.  Any  one  who  reads 
the  wonderful  book  of  good  Mother  Goose 
knows  that  fact  To  be  sure  he  does. 


A  Mother  Hubbards  Easter  Lily 


WHY  doesn't  Mary  Contrary  plant 
me,  I  wonder?"  said  a  lily  bulb, 
one  cold,  drizzly  day.  "  Last  year  I  had  such 
beautiful  blossoms,  and  I  should  like  so  much 
to  have  them  ready  again  by  Raster.  Surely 
she  has  not  forgotten  me." 

''Stop  fretting  and  go  to  sleep,"  said  a 
blade  of  grass  near  by.  "Do  you  not  know 
that  lily  bulbs  never  bloom  well  the  second 
year?  I  heard  Mary  Contrary  say  so.  That 
is  why  you  were  thrown  away.  So  go  to 
sleep  and  keep  quiet." 


— 153  — 


—  154  — 

"Dear  me," said  the  lily  bulb,  "that  is  too 
bad.  I'm  sure  I  could  grow  if  some  one 
would  only  plant  me.  I  shall  send  out  my 
rootlets  anyway,  and  maybe  when  Mary  Con- 
trary sees  how  hard  I  try  she  will  plant  me." 

And  so  she  tried  her  very  best.  But  just 
then  Old  Mother  Hubbard's  dog  Fido  came 


"Stopped  right  still  and  wagged  his  tail" 

scampering  through  the  grass,  his  cold,  black 
nose  sniffing  the  ground  as  he  ran.  He  was 
hunting  a  bone,  you  know,  and  when  he  saw 
the  fresh  lily  bulb,  he  stopped  right  still  and 
wagged  his  tail.  Fido  looked  at  it  very  hard, 
turning  it  over  and  over  with  his  shaggy  paw. 
Then  he  tossed  his  head  and  said,  "A  potato! 
A  potato  !  I  have  found  a  fine  fat  potato ! 


—  155  — 

Mother  Hubbard  likes  potatoes,  so  I'll  just 
carry  her  this  one."  **£ 

And  before  the  lily  bulb  W>  could  say  one 
word,  she  was  galloping  down  the  street  in 
Fido's  mouth,  frightened  almost  to  death. 
At  last  he  dropped  her  at  Mother  Hubbard's 
feet,  wagged  his  tail  and  barked  with  joy. 
He  knew  how  much  she  liked  potatoes. 

''Where  did  you  get  that  lily  bulb,  Fido?" 
said  Mother  Hubbard.  "I  hope  you  haven't 
been  scratching  up  Mary  Contrary's  garden. 
Where  did  you  get  it,  sir?" 

Fido  only  wagged  his  tail  more  quickly,  sat 
on  his  hind  legs  and  crossed  hi^  front  paws. 

That  meant,  "Upon  my  word  and  honor 
I  have  been  good.  Please  give  me  a  ^8*V 
bone."  ** 

So  Mother  Hubbard  patted  Fido  on  the 
head  and  went  to  the  cupboard  to  get  him  a 
bone,  but  there  wasn't  any,  so  the  poor  dog 
had  none.  And  Mother  Hubbard  went  back 


'Fido  sat  on  his  hind  legs  and  crossed  his  front  paws' 


—  157  — 

and   picked   up   the   lily  bulb,  looking  at  it 
closely  to  see  if  Fido's  sharp  teeth  had  hurt  it. 

"No,"  she  said,  shaking  her  head,  "it  is 
all  right.  Poor  little  thing!  it  is  trying  its 
best  to  grow.  I  shall  plant  it  and  have  it  for 
my  Easter  lily.  Maybe  it  will  bloom." 

Trotting  off  to  the  cupboard  again  she 
got  a  pretty  glass  bowl  and  placed  a  hand- 
ful, of  sand  and  rocks  in  the  bottom.  Then 
she  planted  the  bulb  carefully  on  them,  cov- 
ering it  with  fresh  water,  and  placing  it  on 
the  sunny  window-seat  to  grow.  And  now 
the  lily  bulb  was  very,  very  happy. 

I  only  wish  you  could  have  seen  her  grow. 
Even  Fido  was  surprised.  He  thought  that  a 
very  queer  way  for  Mother  Hubbard  to  bake 
a  potato.  He  wanted  it  covered  in  the  ashes, 
and  when  done  to  have  it  for  his  supper. 

So,  every  time  Mother  Hubbard  brought 
fresh  water  to  the  lily  bulb,  Fido  would  catch 
her  by  the  apron,  bark  and  pull.  Then  he 


—  158  — 

would  run  to  the  fireplace  and  scratch  in  the 
ashes,  trying  his  very  best  to  say,  "Cook  it, 
cook  it!"  But  Mother  Hubbard  would  only 
laugh  and  say,  "Down,  sir!  Fido,  you  haven't 
one  grain  of  sense.  This  is  no  potato."  S^\ 

When  Easter  morning  came,  the  first  qf 
thing  Mother  Hubbard  did  was  to  open  her 
eyes.     The  next  thing  she  did  was  to  look 
at  her  bulb,  and  the  next  thing  she  did  was 
to  smile  and  smile. 

Of  course  you  know  the  reason  why. 
Peeping  from  the  rich,  green  leaves  of  the  lily 
bulb  was  a  most  beautiful  Easter  lily. 

And  that  is  what  made  Mother  Hubbard 
smile. 


omm^Tinker  s  CharmString 


TOMMY  TINKER  was  getting  up  a 
charm  string. 

So  were  Bobby  Shaftoe  and  Daffy-down- 
dilly  and  the  Queen  of  Hearts  and  many  of 
the  other  children  in  the  village. 

You  know  what  a  charm  string  is.  Just 
ever  so  many  pretty  buttons  strung  together 
and  worn  around  your  neck.  There  are  glass 
buttons,  silver  buttons,  gold  buttons,  brass 
buttons,  jet  buttons,  pearl  buttons,  and  all 
kinds  of  buttons. 

Daffy-down-dilly  had  the  prettiest  button 


— 159  — 


-  160  — 

of  all;  everybody  said  so.  No  one  else  had 
one  like  it;  even  the  Schoolmaster  knew  that. 

But  something  sorrowful  happened  one 
day,  for  Daffy-clown-dilly  lost  her  pretty  but- 
ton in  the  grass.  It  was  red,  with  a  gold  star, 
and  though  she  looked  and  looked,  it  couldn't 
be  found.  So  she  had  to  go  home  without  it. 

Early  the  next  morning  Tommy  Tinker 
passed  that  way  and  found  the  button  lying 
in  the  grass. 

First,  Tommy  Tinker  said,  "Oh,  it  is 
Daffy-down-dilly's  prettiest  button.  I  will 
run  and  carry  it  to  her  right  now." 

Next,  he  said,  "No,  I'll  put  it  on  my 
string  just  for  to-day.  Daffy-down-dilly  won't 
care.  To-morrow  I  will  take  it  to  her." 

But  when  the  next  day  came  the  button 
looked  so  pretty  on  his  string  Tommy  Tinker 
couldn't  bear  to  take  it  off.  And  dear  me! 
he  kept  it  another  day.  How  dreadful! 

Tommy  Tinker  felt  very  queer  somehow. 


—  161  — 

Why,  he  even  did  not  want  to  meet  Mother 
Goose,  nor  the  Schoolmaster,  nor  the  Old 
Woman  who  never  told  lies,  nor, — Daffy- 
down-dilly,  his  very  best  friend. 


"The  button  looked  so  pretty  on  his  string" 

And  queerest  of  all,  he  didn't  like  to  wear 
his  charm  string  any  more,  but  kept  it  wadded 
up  in  his  trousers  pocket. 

"How  dreadful,"   said  Tommy  Tinker's 


Wadded  up  in  his  trousers  pocket" 


—  163  — 

buttons,  "to  be  kept  here  in  the  dark  this 
way!  We  love  the  light.  What  can  be  the 
matter  with  Tommy  Tinker?" 

You  know  what  was  the  matter  with 
Tommy  Tinker.  And  Tommy  Tinker  knew 
what  was  the  matter,  too.  And  what's  more, 
the  big  hall  clock  knew  what  was  the  matter. 
For  when  Tommy  Tinker  stood  looking  at 
its  honest  face  it  said,  "Tick-tack,  tick-tack, 
take-it-back,  take-it-back ! " 

Then  what  do  you  think  Tommy  Tinker 
did?  Ran  just  as  fast  as  ever  he  could  and 
slipped  the  button  into  Daffy-down-dilly's 
hand.  And  Daffy-down-dilly  was  so  glad. 

And  Tommy  Tinker  was  so  glad.  Then 
he  wore  his  charm  string  on  his  neck  again, 
and  the  buttons  were  glad  to  be  in  the  light. 


AWAY  down  in  one  end  of  Mary  Con- 
2~\  trary's  garden  grew  Mrs.  Morning- 
Glory-Vine.  She  climbed  all  over  the  back 
fence,  and,  like  the  Old  Woman  who  Lived 
in  the  Shoe,  Mrs.  Morning-Glory-Vine  had  so 
many  children  she  did  not  know  what  to  do. 

They  were  her  blossoms,  you  know,  and 
she  dressed  them  all  in  pink. 

She  thought  they  were  very  beautiful. 
And  the  village  children  thought  so,  too,  for 
every  morning  they  would  stop  by  the  fence, 
on  their  way  to  school,  just  to  count  how 


-  165  — 

many  new  children  Mrs.  Morning- 
Glory-Vine  had,  and  to  see  in  what 
tints  of  pink  they  were  dressed. 

''Mother,"  said  the  morning-glories 
one  day  when  the  children  had  passed, 
"what  will  they  do  when  we  are  gone 
and  the  cold,  cold  winter  time  comes 

of  which  you  told  us?  We  would 
like  to  bloom  always  to  make  the 
children  happy;  they  love  us  so." 
"That  is  very  kind,  little  blossoms, 
but  the  winter  would  be  too  cold  for  you, 
and  you  would  surely  freeze.  Besides, 
morning-glories,  like  the  children, 
must  have  a  time  to  sleep  and  rest. 
"But  listen  ;  I  have  a  wonderful 
secret  to  tell  you.  There  is  a  way 
in  which  you  can  come  back  to  the 
children  next  year.  Shall  I  tell  you 
how?" 

"Yes,  yes,"  eagerly  nodded   each 


—  166  — 

pink  morning-glory,  as  it  nestled  close 

to  the  mother  vine. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "all  through  the 

long   summer  months    I    have  been 

very  busy  making  each  one  of  you  a 
brown  seed-pocket.  Have  you  never  noticed 
them  beneath  your  pink  skirts?  To  be  sure 
you  have.  Well,  by  and  by,  when  you  grow 
very  tired  of  playing  with  your  friends  the 
sunbeams,  raindrops,  and  breezes,  I  will  put 
you  to  sleep  in  these  seed-pockets.  You  will 
be  mother's  seed-babies  then,  and  I  shall  be 
very  near  you  until  you  are  quite  fast  asleep. 
"Now  look  below  you  at  the  ground.  That 
is  the  soft  brown  bed  where  all  the  seed-babies 
sleep.  I  slept  there  once  myself,  and  it  is  very 
fine.  And  you,  too,  will  sleep  and 
sleep  and  sleep  and  sleep,  a  long,  long 
nap,  until  the  cold  winter  has  passed 
away. 

"  It  is  then  that  the  wonderful  part 


"Here  comes  Mary  Contrary  to  see  how  her  garden  grows1 


-  168  - 

of  my  secret  happens,  for  when  you  wake  next 
spring, — why!  you  will  no  longer  be  brown 
seed-babies,  but  a  truly  true  vine  like  your 
mother.  You  will  have  pretty  green  leaves 
and  ever  so  many  blossoms  dressed  in  pink, 
all  your  very  own." 

"How  wonderful,  how  wonderful!"  they 
cried  in  a  breath,  nodding  their  heads  so  gay. 
"Tell  us  more  about  it,  mother;  tell  us  more. 
We  like  to  listen." 

"Hush, "said  Mrs.  Morning-Glory-Vine, 
laughing,  "here  comes  Mary  Contrary  to  see 
how  her  garden  grows.  Roll  your  skirts  into 
neat  little  rolls  and  let  us  get  to  work.  The 
brown  seed-pockets  will  never  get  finished 
unless  you  do  your  part.  Hasten,  my  blos- 
soms." 


The  Little  Brown\£lentine 


TITTLE  TEE  WEE  was  the  only  one 
1  ^  who  remembered  to  carry  the  Crooked 
Man  a  valentine. 

It  was  a  pretty  heart  with  birds  and  flow- 
ers painted  on  it.  Tee  Wee  had  made  it 
himself. 

"Please,  sir,  could  you  tell  me  a  story?" 
said  Tee  Wee. 

"To  be  sure,"  said  the  Crooked  Man. 
"What  shall  it  be  about?" 

"About  valentines^"  said  Little  Tee  Wee. 

So  the  Crooked  Man  crossed  his  legs  and 


Little  Tee  Wee  gives  the  Crooked  Man  a  valentine 


—  171  - 

shut  his  eyes  and  leaned  back  in  his  crooked 
chair  and  began: 

"  Every  year  the  birds  have  a  ball  on  St. 
Valentine's  Day.  That  is  the  time  they 
marry,  you  know,  and  at  the  ball  they  choose 
the  one  they  love  the  best  to  be  their  vale'n- 
tine.  Then,  side  by  side,  they  fly  gayly  away 
to  find  the  most  beautiful  place  to  build  their 
nest,  singing  as  they  go: 

"'I  love  you!     I  love  you! 
Sweet  heart  mine. 
Sweet,  sweet,  sweet, 
Sweet  valentine ! ' 

"Robert  of  Lincoln  was  the  happiest  of 
all  the  birds  at  the  valentine  balls,  a  gay,  rol- 
licking fellow. 

"Each  year  he  came  dressed  in  a  glorious 
vest  of  white  and  black,  and,  perching  high 
on  some  budding  twig,  would 
make  the  air  ring  with  the  gay- 
est of  songs . 


—  172  — 

' ' '  Bob-o'link  !     Bob-o'link  ! 
Spink,  spank,  spink. 
Who'll  be  my  valentine? 
Mine  !     Mine  !     Mine  ! ' 

"It  was  always  a  sober  little  brown  bird 
that  he  chose  in  the  end  to  be  his  valentine. 

"He  loved  them  best.  They  were  tender 
and  shy,  and  let  Robert  do  all  the  singing: 

"  '  Bob-o'link  !     Bob-o'link  ! 
Spink,  spank,  spink. 
A  little  brown  valentine 
\  WB^/  F or  me»  only  think  ! ' 

"But  one  year  it   snowed   and 
snowed  on  St.  Valentine's  Day,  and 
Robert  got  to  the  ball  very  late. 

"He  came  in  a  perfect  flutter  of  excite- 
ment, with  his  'spink,  spank,  spink.'  What 
if  all  the  brown  birds  had  been  chosen  and 
none  left  for  him  ? 

"  Oh,  Bob-o'link  !     Bob-o'link  ! 
What  would  you  think? 

"Fluttering  from  bush  and  tree  and  twig, 


—  173  — 

he  twittered  past  cooing  couples  of  happy 
mates.  On  and  on  he  fluttered,  his  saucy 
head  on  one  side,  his  bright  eyes  searching 
eagerly.  At  last  he  found  her,  down  by  the 
jasmine  bush,  a  little  bird  in  brown. 

"  'She's  mine ! 
She's  mine ! 
My  valentine!' 

he  caroled,  and,  brushing  a  flake  of  snow 
from  his  vest  of  white  and  black,  fluttered  to 
the  ground  by  her  side. 

"Now  I  must  tell  you  a  secret  about  this 
little  brown  bird;  she  had  gone  away  to  hide. 

"Beneath  the  jasmine  bush,  with  a  very 
sad  heart,  she  drooped  her  pretty  brown  head. 
'No  one  has  chosen  me,'  she  said,  'and  I  am 
nobody's  valentine.  Nobody  cares  for  me.' 

"It  was  just  then  that  Robert  of  Lincoln 
flew  down,  twittering  softly  in  her  ear: 

' ' '  Lovest  them  me,  little  bird  in  brown, 
Enough  to  be  my  valentine ! 
Sweet,  sweet,  sweet  heart  mine?' 


-  174  - 

"Now  what  do  you  suppose  she  said?" 
asked  the  Crooked  Man  with  a  crooked  little 
smile. 

And  Little  Tee  Wee  smiled  back  again 
and  said,  "Yes." 

"To  be  sure  she  did,"  laughed  the  Crooked 
Man,  "and  they  lived  happily  ever  after- 
wards. And  Robert  kept  on  singing: 

"  '  I  love  you !    I  love  you ! 
Sweet  heart  mine, 
Sweet,  sweet,  sweet, 
Sweet  valentine.'  " 


Cinderella  s  Egg  Hunt 


CINDERELLA  did  not  live  in  Mother 
Goose  Village,  though  she  often  went 
there. 

She  lived  in  London  Town  at  the  king's 
palace,  where  she  had  been  ever  since  the 
prince  found  that  the  glass  slipper  fitted  her. 

Anyway,  whenever  Cinderella's  tiny  pony 
phaeton  was  seen  on  the  streets  of  Mother 
Goose  Village  the  children  knew  something 
good  was  going  to  happen. 

She  had  been  there  just  the  week  before, 
because  Jack  saw  her.  She  spent  the  whole 


— 175  — 


—  176  — 

afternoon  with  Mother  Goose  in  her  quaint 
cottage,  and  talked  and  talked  and  talked. 

And  so  on  Easter  Friday  the  children  were 
not  very  much  surprised  when  the  School- 
master told  them  to  put  on  their  pointed  caps 
and  get  ready  for  a  trip  to  Primrose  Hill. 

"Oh,  I  do  believe  it  will  be  an  egg  hunt," 
said  Little  Tee  Wee  to  Curly  Locks. 

And  Curly  Locks  said,  "Maybe  so, — and 
oh,  won't  that  be  heaps  of  fun!" 

So  they  started  out,  a  double  row  of  little 
pointed  caps. 

Across  the  village,  and  by  the  mill, 
Then  up  the  path  to  Primrose  Hill. 

Sure  enough,  there  stood  Cinderella  and 
Mother  Goose  waiting  for  them. 

And  sure  enough  it  was  to  be  an  egg 
hunt.  They  had  hidden  heaps  and  heaps  of 
eggs  among  the  grass  and  stumps  and  leaves 
and  rocks  and  briars  on  Primrose  Hill.  Such 
pretty,  pretty  eggs,  too! 


—  177  — 

China  eggs,  wax  eggs,  clay  eggs,  candy 
eggs ;  hen  eggs,  turkey  eggs,  and  guinea  eggs; 
blue  eggs,  red  eggs,  green  eggs,  and  yellow 
eggs; — all  kinds  of  eggs.  And  one  golden 
egg- 


"Away  they  scampered" 

This  was  hidden  best  of  all,  and  the  one 
who  found  the  golden  egg, — why!  he  had 
the  sharpest  eyes. 

Cinderella  gave  them  each  a  dainty  wil- 
low basket  for  their  very  own,  and  then  she 


—  178  — 

counted,  one,  two,  three.  And  away  they 
scampered  out  on  the  hunt.  Such  a  merry 
time  as  they  had,  scratching  like  so  many 
chickens. 

Jack-be-Nimble  found  the  first  egg,  a  most 


/.'•"'<• 

"All  the  baskets  -were  quite  full"" 

beautiful  blue  one,  and  little  Jumping  Joan 
found  the  next. 

After  that  every  one  seemed  to  find  them 
at  the  same  time.  All  over  the  hill  you  could 
hear  them  saying  together,  "Oh,  oh!  Look, 
look!  See  mine!  How  pretty!  Oh,  oh,  oh!" 


—  179  — 

At  last  all  the  baskets  were  quite  full  and 
all  the  eggs  had  been  found  except  one.  And 
that  one  was  the  golden  egg. 

"  S'pose  we  can't  find  it  at  all,"  said  Patchy 
Dolly. 

"S'pose  we  can't,"  said  Solomon  Grundy. 

"Oh-o!"  said  Willy  Boy;  "only  s'pose  we 
can't." 

But  just  then  they  heard  some  one  shout, 
"I've  found  it!  Oh,  I've  found  it!  Goody, 
goody,  goody!" 

And  there  came  Humpty  Dumpty  as  fast 
as  his  fat  little  body  could  wabble,  holding 
the  egg  above  his  sunny  head. 

And  goodness  me!  He  stumped  his  toe 
and  dropped  the  golden  egg.  It  was  broken 
into  two  halves,  and  all  the  king's  horses  and 
all  the  king's  men  couldn't  put  it  together 
again. 

I  do  believe  Humpty  Dumpty  was  about 
to  cry,  but  of  course  he  didn't;  oh,  no,  not  for 


1 Holding  the  egg  above  his  sunny  head' 


—  181  — 

anything.  For  were  not  Mother  Goose  and 
Cinderella  and  the  Schoolmaster  all  there? 
What  would  they  think  of  a  cry  baby? 

So   he   swallowed    his   tears    and    smiled 
when  the  children  shouted: 

"Hurrah  for  Humpty  Dutnpty ! 
The  boy  with  the  sharpest  eyes, 
He  stumped  his  toe  and  broke  his  egg, 
But  never,  never  cries." 

Where  did  he  find  the  golden  egg?  Why, 
in  the  hollow  of  a  tree. 


Mother  Goose 
Rliymes 


Old  Mother  Goose, 

When  she  wanted  to  wander 
Would  ride  through  the  air 

On  a  very  fine  gander. 

Mother  Goose  had  a  house, 
'Twas  built  in  a  wood, 

Where  an  owl  at  the  door 
For  sentinel  stood. 

She  had  a  son  Jack, 
A  smart-looking  lad  — 

He  was  not  very  good, 
Nor  yet  very  bad. 

She  once  sent  him  to  market, 
A  live  goose  he  bought. 

"  Here  mother,"  said  he, 
"  It  will  not  go  for  naught." 


Jack's  goose  and  her  gander 

Grew  very  fond ; 
They'd  both  eat  together, 

Or  swim  in  one  pond. 

Jack  found  one  morning, 
As  I  have  been  told, 

His  goose  had  laid  him 
An  egg  of  pure  gold. 

Jack  rode  to  his  mother, 
The  news  for  to  tell ; 

She  called  him  a  good  boy, 
And  said  it  was  well. 

Jack  sold  his  gold  egg 
To  a  rascally  knave  — 

Not  half  of  its  value 

To  poor  Jack  he  gave. 
183  - 


—  184  — 


Then  Jack  went  a-courting 

A  lady  so  gay, 
As  fair  as  a  lily 

And  sweet  as  the  May. 

The  knave  and  the  squire 
Came  close  at  his  back, 

And  began  to  belabor 
The  sides  of  poor  Jack. 

And  then  the  gold  egg 
Was  thrown  in  the  sea, 

But  Jack  jumped  in 
And  got  it  back  presently. 

The  knave  got  the  goose, 
Which  he  vowed  he'd  kill, 

Resolving  at  once 
His  pockets  to  fill. 

Jack's  mother  came  in 

And  caught  the  goose  soon, 

And  mounting  its  back, 
Flew  up  to  the  moon. 

II. 

Old  King  Cole 

Was  a  merry  old  soul, 

And  a  merry  old  soul  was  he ! 
And  he  called  for  his  pipe 
And  he  called  for  his  bowl 

And  he  called  for  his  fiddlers 
three. 

And  every  fiddler  he  had  a  fine 

fiddle, 
And  a  very  fine  fiddle  had  he ! 


"Tweedle    dee,   tweedle    dee," 
said  the  fiddlers, 

"  Oh  there's  none  so  rare  as  can 

compare 

With  King  Cole  and  his  fid- 
dlers three.'' 

III. 

There  was  a  crooked  man  and 

he  went  a  crooked  mile, 
And  he  found  a  crooked  sixpence 

against  a  crooked  stile ; 
He  bought  a  crooked  cat  which 

caught  a  crooked  mouse, 
And  they  all  lived  together  in  a 

little  crooked  house. 

IV. 

Little  Tee  Wee, 
He  went  to  sea 
In  an  open  boat ; 
And  while  afloat 
The  little  boat  bended  — 
My  story's  ended. 

V. 

Peter,  Peter,  pumpkin-eater, 
Had  a  wife  and  couldn't  keep 

her; 

He  put  her  in  a  pumpkin  shell 
And  there  he  kept  her  very  well. 

Peter,  Peter,  pumpkin-eater, 
Had  another  and  didn't  love  her; 
Peter  learned  to  read 'and  spell, 
And  then  he  loved  her  very  well. 


—  185  — 


VI. 

Little  Tommy  Tittlemouse 
Lived  in  a  little  house ; 
He  caught  fishes 
In  other  men's  ditches. 

VII. 

Bobby  Shaf toe's  gone  to  sea, 
Silver  buckles  on  his  knee  ; 
He'll  come  back  and  marry  me, 
Pretty  Bobby  Shaftoe. 

Bobby  Shaftoe's  fat  and  fair, 
Combing  down  his  yellow  hair, 
He's  my  love  for  evermore, 
Pretty  Bobby  Shaftoe. 

VIII. 
Peg,  Peg,  with  a  wooden  leg  — 

Her  father  was  a  miller ; 
He  tossed  a  dumpling  at  her 

head, 
And  said  he  would  not  kill  her. 

IX. 

Little  Nancy  Etticote, 
In  a  white  petticoat, 

With  a  red  nose  ; 
The  longer  she  stands 

The  shorter  she  grows. 

X. 

Three  wise  men  of  Gotham 
Went  to  sea  in  a  bowl ; 
If  the  bowl  had  been  stronger 
My  song  had  been  longer. 


XI. 

As  I  was  going  up  Primrose  Hill, 
Primrose  Hill  was  dirty ; 

There  I  met  a  pretty  Miss, 
And  she  dropped  me  a  cour- 
tesy. 

XII. 
Polly,  put  the  kettle  on, 

Molly,  call  the  muffin  man, 
Sally,  blow  the  bellows  strong, 

And  we'll  all  have  tea. 

XIII. 

Mary,  Mary,  quite  contrary, 
How  does  your  garden  grow  ? 

Silver  bells  and  cockle  shells, 
And  pretty  maids  all  in  a  row. 

XIV. 

Jack  be  nimble, 
Jack  be  quick, 
And  Jack  jumped  over  the 
candlestick. 

XV. 

Little  Robin  Red-breast 

Sat  upon  a  rail ; 
Needle  naddle  went  his  head, 

Wiggle  waggle  went  his  tail. 

XVI. 

Bow-wow-wow, 
Whose  dog  art  thou  ? 

Little  Tom  Tucker's  dog, 
Bow-wow-wow. 


—  186  — 


XVII. 

Little  Polly  Flinders  sat  among 

the  cinders, 

Warming  her  pretty  little  toes ! 
Her  mother  came   and   caught 

her, 

And  whipped  her  little  daughter 
For    spoiling   her    nice    new 
clothes. 

XVIII. 

Humpty  Dumpty  sat  on  a  wall, 
Humpty   Dumpty  had  a  great 

fall; 
All  the  king's  horses  and  all  the 

king's  men 
Cannot    put    Humpty    Dumpty 

together  again. 

XIX. 

Jack  Sprat's  pig, 
He  was  not  very  little, 

Nor  yet  very  big ; 
He  was  not  very  lean, 

He  was  not  very  fat — • 
"  He'll  do  well  for  a  grunt," 

Says  little  Jack  Sprat. 

XX. 

Old  Mother  Twitchett  had  but 

one  eye, 
And  a  long  tail,  which  she  let 

fly; 
And  every  time  she  went  over 

a  gap 
She  left  a  bit  of  her  tail  in  a  trap. 


XXI. 

Doctor  Foster  went  to  Gloster 

In  a  shower  of  rain  ; 
He  stepped  in  a  puddle  up  to 
the  middle 

And  never  went  there  again. 

XXII. 

See-saw,  Margery  Daw, 

Jenny  shall  have  a  new  mas- 
ter; 

She  shall  have  but  a  penny  a  day 
Because   she  can't  work  any 
faster. 

XXIII. 
Little  Tommy  Tucker  sings  for 

his  supper. 
What  shall  he  eat  ?  White  bread 

and  butter. 
How  shall  he  cut  it  without  any 

knife? 
How  will  he  marry  without  any 

wife? 

XXIV. 
Little  Boy  Blue,  come  blow  your 

horn ; 
The  sheep's  in  the  meadow,  the 

cow's  in  the  corn, 
Where's  the  little  boy  that  looks 

after  the  sheep  ? 
He  is  under  the  haystack  fast 

asleep. 

Will  you  wake  him  ?   No,  not  I ! 
For  if  I  do  he'll  be  sure  to  cry. 


—  187  — 


XXV. 

Elizabeth,  Elspeth,    Betsy,  and 

Bess, 
They  all  went  together  to  seek 

a  bird's  nest. 
They  found  a  bird's  nest  with 

four  eggs  in, 
They  all  took  one  and  left  none 

in. 

XXVI. 
There  was  an  old  woman  lived 

under  the  hill, 
And  if  she's  not  gone  she  lives 

there  still. 
Baked  apples  she  sold  and  craii- 

berry  pies, 
And  she's  the  old  woman  that 

never  told  lies. 

XXVII. 

A  diller,  a  dollar, 
A  ten  o'clock  scholar, 

What  makes  you  come  so  soon? 
You  used  to  come  at  ten  o'clock, 

But  now  you  come  at  noon. 

XXVIII. 
Peter   Piper  picked   a   peck   of 

pickled  pepper, 
A  peck  of  pickled  pepper  Peter 

Piper  picked. 
If  Peter  Piper  picked  a  peck  of 

pickled  pepper, 
Where  is  the  peck  of  pickled 

pepper  Peter  Piper  picked  ? 


XXIX. 

Old  father  Graybeard, 
Without  tooth  or  tongue ; 

If  you'll  give  me  your  finger, 
I'll  give  you  my  thumb. 

XXX. 

Little  Miss  Muffet 
Sat  on  a  tuffet, 

Eating  of  curds  and  whey ; 
There  came  a  great  spider 
Who  sat  down  beside  her, 

And  frightened  Miss  Muffet 
away. 

XXXI. 

Little  Jack  Horner  sat  in  a  cor- 
ner, 

Eating  a  Christmas  pie. 
He  put  in  his  thumb  and  took 

out  a  plum 

And  said,  "  What  a  good  boy 
am  I ! " 

XXXII. 

Jack  and  Jill  went  up  the  hill, 
To  fetch  a  pail  of  water ; 

Jack  fell   down  and  broke  his 

crown, 
And  Jill  came  tumbling  after 

Up  Jack  got  and  home  did  trot, 

As  fast  as  he  could  caper; 
Dame  Jill  had  the  job  to  plaster 

his  knob 

With     vinegar     and    brown 
paper. 


—  188  — 


XXXIII. 
Jack  Sprat  could  eat  no  fat, 

His  wife  could  eat  no  lean, 
And  so  between  them  both,  you 

see, 
They  licked  the  platter  clean. 

XXXIV. 

Pease  porridge  hot, 
Pease  porridge  cold, 

Pease  porridge  in  the  pot 
Nine  days  old. 

Some  like  it  hot, 

Some  like  it  cold, 
Some  like  it  in  the  pot 

Nine  days  old. 

XXXV. 

There  was  an  old  woman  went 

up  in  a  basket, 
Ninety  times  as  high  as  the 

moon 
And  where   she    was    going    I 

couldn't  but  ask  her, 
For  in  her  hand  she  carried  a 
broom. 

"Old  woman,   old  woman,   old 

woman,"  quoth  I, 
"  Whither,  O  whither,  O  whither 

so  high  ? ' ' 
"To  sweep  the  cobwebs  off  the 

sky!" 
'  Shall  I  go  with  you  ?  "  "Aye,  by 

and  by." 


XXXVI. 

Simple  Simon  met  a  pieman 

Going  to  the  fair ; 
Says  Simple  Simon  to  the  pie- 
man, 

"  Let  me  taste  your  ware." 

Says    the    pieman    to    Simple 

Simon, 

"  Show  me  first  your  penny ;" 
Says  Simple  Simon  to  the  pie- 
man, 
"  Indeed  I  have  not  any." 

Simple  Simon  went  a-fishing, 
To  try  and  catch  a  whale ; 

All  the  water  he  had  with  him 
Was  in  his  mother's  pail. 

Simple  Simon  went  to  look 
If  plums  grew  on  a  thistle ; 

He  pricked  his  fingers  very  much 
Which     made     poor     Simon 
whistle. 

Then  Simple  Simon  went  a-hunt- 
ing, 

To  try  and  catch  a  hare  ; 
He  rode  a  goat  about  the  street, 

But  could  not  find  one  there. 

He  went  for  water  in  a  sieve, 
But  soon  it  all  run  through ; 

And  now  poor  Simple  Simon 
Bids  you  all  adieu ! 


189  — 


XXXVII. 
Daffy-down-dilly  has  come  up  to 

town, 
In  a  fine  petticoat  and  a  green 

gown. 

XXXVIII. 

Tom,  Tom,  the  piper's  son, 
Stole  a  pig  and  away  he  ran  ; 
The  pig  was  eaten 
And  Tom  was  beaten, 
And  Tom  ran  crying  down  the 
street. 

XXXIX. 

Pussy  cat,  pussy  cat,  where  have 

you  been  ? 
I've  been  to  London  to  visit  the 

queen. 
Pussy  cat,  pussy  cat,  what  did 

you  there  ? 
I  frightened  a  little  mouse  under 

her  chair. 

XL. 

The  north  wind  doth  blow, 
And  we  shall  have  snow, 
And  what  will  poor  Robin  do 
then? 

Poor  thing ! 

He  will  hop  to  a  barn, 
And  to  keep  himself  warm 
Will  hide  his  head  under  his 
wing, 

Poor  thing ! 


XLI. 

Little  Bo-Peep  has  lost  her  sheep 
And  cannot  tell  where  to  find 

them; 
Leave  them  alone  and  they  will 

come  home, 

And  bring  their  tails  behind 
them. 

Little  Bo-Peep  fell  fast  asleep, 
And  dreamt  she  heard  them 

bleating ; 
When  she  awoke  she  found  it  a 

joke, 
For  still  they  all  were  fleeting. 

Then  up  she  took  her  little  crook, 
Determined   she   would    find 

them. 
She  found  them,  indeed,  but  it 

made  her  heart  bleed, 
For  they  left  their  tails  behind 
them. 

It  happened  one  day,  as  Bo-Peep 
did  stray 

Into  a  meadow  close  by, 
She  found  their  tails  side  by  side, 

All  hung  on  a  tree  to  dry. 

She  heaved  a  sigh  and  wiped 

her  eye, 
Then   over   the   hillocks  she 

raced, 
And  tried  what  she  could  as  a 

shepherd  should, 
That    each    tail    should    be 
rightly  placed. 


—  190  — 


XLII. 
There  was  an  old  woman  as  I've 

heard  tell, 
And  she  went  to   market   her 

eggs  to  sell. 
She   went  to   market    all   on   a 

market  day 
And  she  fell  asleep  on  the  king's 

highway. 

There  came  by  a  peddler,  whose 

name  was  Stout, 
He    cut  off    her   petticoats   all 

round  about. 
He  cut  off  her  petticoats  up  to 

the  knees, 
Which    made    the  old    woman 

shiver  and  freeze. 

When  the  old  woman  first  did 

awake, 
She  began  to   shiver  and   she 

began  to  shake ; 
She  began  to  wonder  and  she 

began  to  cry, 
"Mercy,  mercy  on  me,  this  is 

not  I! 


"  But  if  it  be  I,  as  I  hope  it  be, 
I  have  a  little  dog  at  home,  and 

he'll  know  me. 

If  it  be  I,  he'll  wag  his  little  tail, 
And  if  it  be  not  I,  he'll  bark  and 

wail." 

Home  went  the  little  woman  all 

in  the  dark, 
Up  jumped  the  little  dog  and 

he  began  to  bark. 
He  began  to  bark  and  she  began 

to  cry, 
"Mercy,  mercy  on  me,  this  is 

not  I!" 

XLIII. 
Little  Tommy  Grace  had  a  pain 

in  his  face, 
So  bad  he  couldn't   learn   a 

letter. 

Then  in  came  Dicky  Long 
Singing  such  a  funny  song, 
And  Tommy  laughed 

And    found    his    face    much 
better. 


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